The four teams that will advance to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup have been determined.

After a series of tense and dramatic matches, the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup have officially determined the four outstanding teams that will participate. Qatar became the fourth team to play in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup after Australia, Tajikistan, and Jordan.

Xác định 4 đội tuyển vòng tứ kết Asian Cup 2023

The starting lineups for the Qatar and Palestine national teams at the 2023 Asian Cup. (Source: AFP)

Host nation Qatar is the latest team to secure a place in the quarter-finals after a comeback victory, winning 2-1 against Palestine.

Hasan Al Haydos and Akram Afif scored alternately, securing the victory for the defending champions after Palestine had taken the lead through Oday Dabbagh.

This also marks the second consecutive Asian Cup where Qatar has reached the quarter-finals (the round for the eight best teams in the continent).

Coach Tintin Marquez's team will continue their journey with a match against the winner of the game between Uzbekistan and Thailand (taking place at 6:30 PM on January 30th).

Uzbekistan and Thailand are both considered "easier" opponents for Qatar in its quest to defend its title.

Prior to Qatar, the Jordan team also advanced to the quarterfinals with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Iraq at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Jordan pulled off a surprise victory against their higher-rated opponents by breaking the deadlock with a goal from Yazan Al-Naimat in the 45+1 minute.

However, Iraq demonstrated their resilience by scoring two goals in quick succession through Suad Natiq and Aymen Hussein.

But Iraq's joy was short-lived when the referee unexpectedly showed Aymen Hussein a second yellow card after his celebration, meaning they were left with only 10 players on the field.

Playing with ten men, Iraq faced immense pressure from their opponents towards the end of the match, and the unexpected happened. Jordan scored two consecutive goals in the 90+5th and 90+7th minutes through Yazan Al-Arab and Nizar Mahmoud Al-Rashdan to win dramatically 3-2.

This result means Iraq must bid farewell to the tournament, where they were highly rated after an unbeaten run in the group stage.

Iraq's elimination left coach Jesus Casas extremely angry, believing that referee Alireza Faghani was responsible for his team's defeat.

"The referee's decision to send off completely changed the game," coach Jesus Casas said at the post-match press conference. "In a major tournament like the Asian Cup, a player can't be sent off just for celebrating. The Jordan players celebrated similarly and the referee did nothing, didn't penalize them. That's strange."

As for the Jordan team, this dramatic victory propelled them straight into the quarter-finals, where they will face Tajikistan, a team considered a surprise contender at the 2023 Asian Cup.

The newly promoted Tajikistan team pulled off a major surprise in the round of 16 by holding UAE to a draw in 120 minutes of play before winning 5-3 in the penalty shootout.

The shocking victory against UAE helped the Tajikistan national team achieve a remarkable feat, reaching the quarter-finals in their first ever appearance.

Now, this team, ranked 106th in the world, is heading into their match against Jordan with the determination to continue writing their fairytale on Qatari soil.

The fourth team to reach the quarter-finals is Australia . Coach Graham Arnold's team secured their place in the round of eight after a comfortable 4-0 victory over Indonesia.

In that match, Martin Boyle, Craig Goodwin, and Harry Souttar scored for Australia after they took the lead thanks to an own goal by Elkan Baggott.

The quarter-final match is expected to be much tougher for Australia, as they will have to face the winner of the match between two big teams, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

The match between Saudi Arabia and South Korea is considered the highlight of the Round of 16. The game will take place at 11 PM today (January 30th) at Education City Stadium.

This is also considered a highly anticipated "early final" as both South Korea and Saudi Arabia are strong contenders for the Asian Cup 2023 title.

( according to Vietnam+ )

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