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With the AFC Asian Cup already behind us, the quadrennial tournament of the continent never fails to deliver to its promise of non-stop action. We've also got a fair share of surprises in the tournament which we will be elaborating for you.
Every four years, Asia's best nations compete in the continent's equivalent of the World Cup. Hoping to provide a more exciting look to the tournament, the 17th edition saw a change in the look of the trophy as well as a revamped number of qualified teams from 16 to 24.
#1 Qatar's unbeaten run to win the cup
They came, they saw and they conquered. With the hopes of a nation behind them, Qatar proved that dreams really do come true. Even Xavi Hernandez predicted the nation's victory, for which he did get mocked by all and sundry. They simply played their game and delivered a spectacular performance in the tournament.
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If anyone surprised us to no end in this tournament, it was the champions, Qatar, who went on a flawless run towards the final. They won all of their matches until the final, without conceding a goal, with their goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb being declared the Goalkeeper of the Tournament (A bit obvious that, you would think).
Their victory over Japan in the final was obviously their best result of the tournament, but they would have been hugely satisfied by their semifinal, when they beat the hosts UAE 4-0. Given the current political climate in the Gulf, that was as sweet a result as Qatar could get.
The victory over Japan simply capped off a flawless performance in the tournament that looked to be the nation's preparation for the World Cup in 2022 where they will host the biggest sporting spectacle, in a first for the Gulf region. Surely, the party's just starting back in Qatar.
#2 Almoez Ali breaks a long-standing record from Ali Daei
A product of the ever-growing youth football program of Qatar, Almoez Ali rose from nowhere and helped his country win its first ever Asian Cup trophy with nine goals in the tournament, breaking the record of Ali Daei, who scored eight goals in the 1996 edition of the Asian Cup.
Being the top-scorer in the continental stage might be something he's getting accustomed to as he also finished as the top scorer in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship where he bagged six goals and played an instrumental role in Qatar's third-place finish in that tournament.
Though he faced some sort of controversy when UAE, after being dealt with a 4-0 defeat, filed a protest against Ali's eligibility to play for Qatar, it was dismissed by Asia's football governing body. This did not stop Ali from providing a stellar performance in the final where he broke Daei's record with a peach of a goal.
Ali's performance in the Asian Cup goes to show how well Qatar has been doing their grassroots program. The only question now is will he be able to continue this run of form until 2022 or will it just be a once-off awesome performance?
#3 Champions and powerhouse come crashing down
Since the start of the tournament, the road to the AFC Asian Cup final had been shaky for the defending champions Australia and most other Asian Football powerhouses. In their opening match, 2015 Asian Cup champions Australia surprisingly fell to a solitary goal against Jordan.
Though they would get back on track, the powerhouse squads of Australia, South Korea, Iran and of course, Japan fell one by one during the knockouts. The two 2015 Asian Cup finalists went out first after their respective defeats in the last eight.
Australia went down 1-0 against the host nation UAE courtesy a 68th-minute goal from Ali Mabkhout while South Korea allowed the eventual champions Qatar to score in the 78th minute via Abdulaziz Hatem.
In the semi-finals, Qatar demolished the hosts UAE, who were looking for their first trophy as well, by four goals to nothing.
Then the biggest surprise happened, when Japan fell to Qatar as the little Arab nation hoisted their first Asian Cup trophy. No need to elaborate, just let that one sink in for the moment.
#4 Debutants surprised the continent
For the first time in its history, the Asian Cup welcomed 24 nations instead of the usual 16, which gave a bigger competition and chances for nations who are not yet known on the continental stage.
Debutants Kyrgyz Republic and the Philippines offered something on the table as both of them provided such surprising performances in their opening fixtures.
The Kyrgyz Republic faced China PR in their opening match where Akhlidin Israilov scored his nation's first goal in the tournament on the 42nd minute.
However, their celebrations were cut short in the second half when Pavel Matyash, their goalkeeper, went on to provide what was one the 2019 Asian Cup's greatest howler as he allowed a goal into his own net.
From then on, China capitalized on the blunder and went on to win 2-1. Despite the defeat, they went on to the round of 16 as they managed to win 3-1 against the Philippines, which sent them as the second-best third placers in the tournament with three points.
The Kyrgyz Republic also matched UAE stride-for-stride in the Round of 16 clash, scoring a second equaliser in second-half stoppage time to force extra-time. After going down in extra-time, they hit the crossbar with what was the last kick of the game, ensuring a great escape for the UAE.
The Kyrgyz were that close to forcing the lottery of a penalty shootout.
Looking at the other debutants, the Philippines performed really well against a powerhouse in South Korea. With a gap of 63 ranking spots between them, it was already clear that the Philippines would go into the particular game as the clear underdogs.
Punters and pundits alike already counted out the small island nation even before a ball was kicked, but their resilience proved to be a breath of fresh air.
They were able to hold the two-time Asian Cup holders scoreless until a scramble in the box on the 67th minute which allowed Hwang Ui-Jo to tap the ball past Michael Falkesgaard.
Though they would eventually fall against China (3-0) and Kyrgyzstan (3-1) respectively, they did show that they weren't the pushover everyone expected The Azkals to be.
#5 The Underdogs rose to the occasion
With a promise of an exciting tournament, the AFC Asian Cup saw two underdogs rise to the occasion and deliver a surprising performance that everyone didn't really expect.
Starting off with Thailand, who are are already a household name in the ASEAN region, and also have seven previous Asian Cup appearances under their belt and a third-place finish in 1972. They're still considered underdogs especially in the group they were put into this tournament.
Facing the hosts UAE, India and Bahrain in the group stages, Thailand was dealt with an early blow against India as the Sunil Chhetri-led squad marched onto a 4-1 victory against the five-time AFF Suzuki Cup champions.
However, they came back with a vengeance and went on to win their second match in the group stages against Bahrain courtesy of a goal from Chanathip Songkrasin in the 58th minute.
They then went on to shock the hosts UAE via 1-1 draw to finish second in group A with four points.
Into the knockout stages, Thailand continued to surprise when they scored first against China through Supachai Jaided, however, they conceded two second-half goals from Xiao Zhi and Gao Lin to send them crashing out of the tournament.
Another team that hugely surprised us was the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup champions Vietnam. They almost delivered a shock defeat to the 2007 Asian Cup winners Iraq when they scored two goals in the first half but the resilient Iraqis went on for a comeback to overturn the result in their favour.
In their second match, they lost to Iran 2-0 but that didn't seem to dampen their hopes. With pure optimism in their heads, Vietnam went on to win their pivotal match against Yemen courtesy of goals from Nguyen Quang Hai and Que Ngoc Hai which sent them to the round of 16 as another best third-place team in the competition.
They continued to surprise the everyone during the knockout stages when they went up against Jordan. Vietnam conceded a goal with six minutes remaining in the first half but they then went on to equalize on the 51st minute.
Nguyen Cong Phu'O'ng received a lovely cross inside the box from Nguyen Trong Hoang which he then tapped past the keeper. The match went to penalties where Vietnam emerged victorious with help from the crossbar as Faisal Mohammed missed his attempt from the spot followed by a save from Dang Van Lam against Samir Saleh's attempt. Bui Tien Dung capped off the victory through his calm and collected shot from the spot.
They were finally shown the exit doors by the four-time Asian Cup champions Japan courtesy of a penalty converted by Ritsu Doan. The penalty was awarded to the Blue Samurais after a review from the VAR saw Tien Dung tripping the scorer.
The success that Vietnam has achieved in this tournament could be credited to the wonders of their grassroots program. Park Hang-Seo opted to parade his young guns, consisting of almost an entire squad that he brought to the final of the AFC U-23 Championship against Uzbekistan. Truly, Vietnam surprised everyone with their cup run as well as made a statement that with a great foundation, a nation could really achieve the results they are hoping for.
