Answers: AFC Asian Cup Football
I am posting the answers on Qatar’s National Sports Day, a public holiday in the country, three days after Qatar won the AFC Asian Cup for the second straight time.
Answers
1) Oday Dabbagh starred in Palestine’s emphatic 3-0 win over Hong Kong striking two goals and followed it up with the opening goal against Qatar in the round of 16. How did he make history in 2021, marking a first for a homegrown Palestinian player who started his club career in the West Bank?
Oday Dabbagh became the first homegrown Palestinian player to be part of a top-flight European league when he joined Portugal’s Arouca FC. Since then he’s moved to Charleroi in Belgium.
The first homegrown Palestinian footballer to play professionally in Europe was Mohammed Saleh from Gaza, who was with Maltese side Floriana in 2018.
2) Which country was allowed to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006 and went on to host the AFC Asian Cup in 2015?
Australia. The move was intended to make World Cup qualification easier. More on why Australia switched from the Oceania Football Confederation to the AFC here, here, here, here and here.
3) This country was the surprise winner at the 2007 Asian Cup in the midst of war at home. The triumph is considered one of the biggest underdog wins in football, though it was the silver medallist at the 2006 Asian Games and finished fourth at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Iraq. More here, here and here.
4) Which country, which does not exist today, took part in the first two Asian Cups in 1956 and 1960?
South Vietnam.
5) Which country’s best performance at the Asian Cup was a second-place finish in 1964? At the time it was an Asian footballing power with two Asian Games gold medals and fourth place at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Its footballing fortunes have declined precipitously from the 1970s.
India. More here and here. India’s last major achievement in football was a bronze medal at the 1970 Asian Games.
6) This 39-year-old who led his team in the latest Asian Cup in Qatar has scored 93 goals for his country, making him third after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the list of active players with the most number of goals in international football. Who and which country?
Sunil Chhetri, India. More here, here and here.
7) Syria’s team at the 2023 Asian Cup has three players (Jalil Elias, Ibrahim Hesar, Ezequiel Ham) who were born and raised in another country. They were called up to play for Syria because of ancestral links. Which country? (this country has also had a president of Syrian descent)
Argentina. Carlos Menem, born to Syrian immigrant parents was Argentina’s president from 1989 to 1999. More on Menem here, here and here.
8) This Central Asian country’s had four players of Ghanaian origin represent them in international football. One of them, Joel Kojo, scored the lone goal by this country in the group stage at the 2023 Asian Cup. Which country?
Kyrgyzstan. More here and here.
9) 1968 saw a contentious match between the host nation and an opponent who faced a hostile crowd. Vinyl records and chicken heads were hurled at the opposing team’s players as the crowd demonstrated its anger. The host team won 2-1. Name the two countries.
Iran defeated Israel in Tehran. More here and here. Among those who watched the match on TV was current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. More here. The match took place a year after Israel captured Palestinian territories in the 1967 war. While Iran under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (the Shah) had solid economic ties with Israel (80-90% of Israel’s oil imports came from Iran), public anger against Israel had swelled amid increasing solidarity with the Palestinians and Arab nations.
In the 1974 Asian Games held in Tehran under the Shah, Iran beat Israel 1-0 in a tense final to clinch gold. Israel again faced a hostile crowd, a year after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. During the event, Israel was expelled from the AFC following a resolution introduced by Kuwait. More here and here. 1974 also marked the last time Israel took part in an Asian Games. More here, here and here. Now Iran refuses to play Israel in international sporting events.
The 1968 Asian Cup victory was a turning point for Iran in football. The country went on to repeat its triumph in 1972 and 1976, making it three-in-a-row. In 1978 Iran made it to the FIFA World Cup for the first time. But it hasn’t won an Asian Cup since.
10) This country won the Asian Cup in 1964 when it hosted the event. It was expelled by the Asian Football Confederation in 1974. Which country?
Israel. Multiple boycotts meant only four teams took part in 1964 - Israel, India, Hong Kong and South Korea. Israel’s only appearance at a FIFA World Cup was in 1970 when it was the only team from Asia to qualify. After the expulsion from Asian competitions, Israel became a member of UEFA and competes in European footballing events including for World Cup qualification.
11) This country was the runner-up in the 1968 Asian Cup in what remains their only appearance in the event. This was during a golden period for the country in football that lasted from 1965 until 1973. They won the Asian Games gold medal in 1966 and 1970 and five consecutive titles at the Southeast Asian Peninsula Games. Which country?
12) This host country’s surprise win in the 1992 Asian Cup was a turning point in its football history. It accelerated the creation of a professional league in the country. It’s won three more Asian Cups since then, making it the most successful country in the competition. Which country?
Japan. It’s the only country to win the AFC Asian Cup four times. More here on how the J. League created in the 1990s transformed football in Japan. An influential figure in the early years of the J. League was Brazilian star Zico, who went on to coach Japan to Asian Cup triumph in China in 2004. More here.
13) As the 1980s dawned this country became the top footballing power in Asia, reaching the quarterfinals at the Moscow Olympics, winning the 1980 Asian Cup and qualifying for the 1982 World Cup. It also won five out of six Gulf Cups between 1970 and 1982. But its footballing fortunes declined steeply from the 1990s and it did not qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup. Which country?
Kuwait. More here. Kuwait was the first country from the Gulf Cooperation Council to make it to the FIFA World Cup (1982). A key figure in Kuwait’s emergence as a football power in the Gulf in the early 1980s was its Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. He was later in charge of Brazil’s World Cup winning team in 1994.
More on Kuwait’s football slump in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion in 1990 here.
14) The 2004 Asian Cup final saw the host team lose 3-1 to an opponent with whom it has a tense history. One of the winning goals was accompanied by a handball controversy and an angry crowd rioted at the end, throwing bottles and burning the winning team’s flags. Name the two countries (the winner had faced hostility and jeers from local crowds throughout the tournament)
Japan defeated China in Beijing. More here, here, here, here, here and here.
15) Host fans threw shoes and water bottles onto the field in a politically charged Asian Cup semifinal in 2019, as the other team decisively beat the hosts 4-0. It went on to win the event for the first time. Name the two countries.
Qatar defeated United Arab Emirates 4-0. The match took place while Qatar was under a land, sea and air blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain that lasted from June 2017 to January 2021. The UAE and Qatar resumed diplomatic ties in June 2023.
Qatar won the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 2019 after defeating Japan in the final. More here and here.
16) Attaa Jaber, a Palestinian citizen of Israel switched from representing Israel to Palestine in 2023. How did he make history with Israel’s under-21 football team in 2015? (Jaber is part of the Palestine team at the 2023 Asian Cup).
Attaa Jaber became the first Palestinian citizen of Israel to captain an Israeli football team in 2015, when he led the under-21 side. More here, here and here.
17) The football federation of this country, a surprise success story at the 2023 Asian Cup, is headed by its longtime president’s son. The son is also mayor of the capital city, chairman of the upper house of parliament and is widely expected to succeed his father. Earlier he was a striker and captained a football club. Which country?
Tajikistan. The Central Asian country lost in the quarterfinals to Jordan. Tajikistan’s football federation is headed by Rustam Emomali, son of President Emomali Rakhmon, The senior Rakhmon has been president since 1994. More about Tajikistan and the ruling family’s role in promoting football here, here, here and here.
This is my fourth football-themed quiz. Here are the answers to the three quizzes I published at the time of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.