The 2023 Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations were played in January 2024 and won by the respective hosts Qatar and Ivory Coast.
In Asia, hosts Qatar won group A without conceding a goal and were followed into the next round by Tajikistan while in group B a goalless draw between Uzbekistan and Syria saw both teams qualify behind Australia. The UAE and Palestine followed group C leaders Iran into the round of 16 while in group D Iraq finished top after shocking tournament favourites Japan 2-1 and a 1-0 victory over Vietnam sent Indonesia to the knockout stages for the first time in their history. South Korea finished behind Bahrain, who defeated Jordan 1-0, after only managing 2-2 and 3-3 draws against Jordan and Malaysia respectively and were joined by Jordan who put 4 past Malaysia without reply in their first match. Thailand’s 2-0 win against Kyrgyzstan in their opening match stood them in good stead to go through with group F winners Saudi Arabia. In the round of 16, ten Iraqis were knocked out of the competition by Jordan who came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 with 2 goals in stoppage time while in the quarter finals Iran converted a penalty right at the death to win 2-1 and end Japan’s hopes. Jordan stunned South Korea 2-0 to reach the final and meet Qatar who got he better of Iran 3-2 with the Iranians having been reduced to 10 players late on in the match. Hosts Qatar lifted the Asian Cup with a 3-1 win over Jordan after Akram Afif scored all 3 goals from the penalty spot.
In Africa, after losing 1-0 to Nigeria, Ivory Coast were humiliated 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea but scraped through in third place only to knock out reigning champions Senegal in a penalty shootout in the round of 16 . In group B, Cape Verde were clear winners having beaten Mozambique 3-0 and Egypt finished second with three 2-2 draws while Ghana and Mozambique fell short. Senegal were group C winners with Cameroon and Guinea following them into the next round and in group D Angola finished top with a 2-0 win over Burkina Faso while Mauritania dumped Algeria out with a single goal that saw them go through as one of the best third teams. Mali were winners of group E where South Africa thumped Namibia 4-0, but both teams progressed to the next round leaving winless Tunisia to lick their wounds. DR Congo made it through with 3 draws including a 1-1 against group winners Morocco. In the round of 16, Ademola Lookman scored twice to put Nigeria through at Cameroon’s expense while South Africa shocked Morocco with a double and Guinea broke the deadlock against 10-man Equatorial Guinea deep into stoppage time to book a place in the quarter finals where they lost 3-1 to DR Congo having taken the lead. Nigeria were also triumphant in their quarter-final match, netting a single goal against Angola. In the final, Ivory Coast came from a goal down to defeat Nigeria 2-1 and bring joy to the nation.