It was a fitting finale to a tournament that saw thrills and spills in equal measure so join the-AFC.com as we take a look at some key takeaways from the tournament.

Long wait ends

It took six editions for the tournament to have its first two-time champions, with Doha proving to be a happy hunting ground for Japan as they lifted the title for a second time, eight years after having won their first in the same city. The Japanese also won their fourth AFC Asian Cup™ title in Doha, emerging champions in 2011.

Perfect Japan

Japan’s win meant they maintained a perfect record of emerging champions each time they have featured in the final. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, lost in the decider for the second successive edition as their wait to add to the 2018 title continues.

Olympic cheer

It was not all bad news for Uzbekistan however as Timur Kapadze’s side can look forward to their Olympic debut at Paris 2024. They will do battle in Group C with Spain, Egypt and Dominican Republic their challengers. Japan will be in Group D alongside Paraguay, Mali and Israel while Iraq will face Argentina, Morocco and Ukraine in Group B.

Player for the big occasion

Ali Jasim won the Yili Top Scorer award as the young Iraqi served further notice of his immense talent. Having scored the goal that sealed Iraq’s qualification to the FIFA U20 World Cup 2022, Jasim netted the winner in the playoff win against Indonesia to book his nation’s sixth appearance at the Olympics. The 20-year-old is now hoping to ply his trade in Europe.

Goal fest

Japan only needed to score once to defeat Uzbekistan in the final but Qatar 2024 saw a glut of goals, with 84 scored in total across the 32 matches, three more than the 2022 edition.

Safe hands

The title eluded Uzbekistan but goalkeeper Abduvakhid Nematov was a deserving winner of the Best Goalkeeper award after keeping four clean sheets. In fact, the FC Nasaf custodian was minutes away from a fifth, only for Fuki Yamada to strike Japan’s winning goal in the first minute of added time in the final.

Leading by example

Japan won the title despite not hitting the heights they are accustomed too and a major reason for them emerging champions was captain Joel Chima Fujita, whose leadership and calming skills drove his teammates past extremely challenging tests.

Fans will Indonesia on

All the teams had fans cheering them on in the stands but Indonesia’s supporters were, by far, the most passionate as the Southeast Asian side came within a whisker of qualifying for the Olympics on their AFC U23 Asian Cup debut. Shin Tae-yong’s side can be sure their Doha fanbase will be rooting for them during Friday’s Olympic playoff against Guinea in Paris.