Like the Gold Cup, and European Cup, the Asian Cup is the tournament for finding out who is the best team in Asia. The tournament is held every 4 years and it has been run by the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) since 1956. This year, the Asian Cup is being held in 4 countries, instead of just one. They are: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, & Vietnam.

Teams such as Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and S. Korea have been successful in the past competitions. Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Japan all have 3 cup titles, while S. Korea only has 2. But if you look over the tournaments history, the team that has the most success has been Iran. However, they have not won a cup title in the last 32 years.

The Asian Cup is overlooked by people in the United States, because the teams are half way across the world and they don’t have as much hype as the European Cup or Copa America. Another reason, is because people don’t have much access to watching the games. Only the people of the Asian continent actually have a intention of watching these games, and they find a way, either through satellite or the internet. I have watched the Asian Cup and Gold Cup, and in my opinion, the Asian Cup is a lot more prestigious than the Gold Cup.

This year, a new squad was added to the competition: Australia. They are a strong team and they will make a presence in the Asian Cup. With the addition of Australia, the 5 favorite teams to win the cup are Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, S. Korea, and Australia.

The competition opens up on Saturday, July 7, with a match between Thailand and Iraq.

Sunday, July 8: Australia vs Oman; Vietnam vs UAE

Monday, July 9: Japan vs Qatar

Tuesday, July 10: China vs Malaysia

Wednesday, July 11: Iran vs Uzbekistan; S. Korea vs Saudi Arabia (*most anticipated)