Qatar makes history by winning the cup for the first time; the national football team stops in the quarterfinals and Lippi bids farewell

Qatar player Almoiz Ali (second from left) scored with an overhead kick during the game. As Qatar won the cup for the first time, the curtain of the 2019 Asian Cup came to an end. Iran, South Korea, Australia and other strong teams have advanced to the quarterfinals, and the Asian football landscape with East and West Asian teams competing for supremacy has not changed significantly. The Chinese team stopped in the quarterfinals, and coach Lippi also said goodbye to the national football team.
  Qatar defeated Japan 3-1 in the final, reaching the top of Asian football for the first time in history and ending Japan's dream of winning the championship for the fifth time.   In this tournament, Qatar showed its true qualities as a "dark horse". Having never won in the Asian Cup knockout rounds before, they got through all the way and won all three group matches to advance to the top spot. In the knockout round, the Qatar team defeated Iraq and South Korea with two 1-0 results, and then went full-fire in the semi-finals, beating the host UAE team 4-0. It won 16 goals in six games without conceding a goal, creating the longest record of not conceding a goal in the history of the Asian Cup.   The four-time champion Japan got off to a slow start, narrowly defeating Turkmenistan 3-2 in the first game of the group stage, a narrow victory over Oman 1-0 in the second round, and a thrilling victory over Uzbekistan 2-1 in the final round. The Japanese team, which conceded three goals in three games, began to enter the state in the knockout stage. It first eliminated its strong rival Saudi Arabia 1-0, and then narrowly defeated Vietnam 1-0. In the semi-finals, the Japanese team's pass-and-control football showed great strength and sent the Iranian team home with a beautiful 3-0.   Qatar forward Almoyez Ali, who scored four goals in a game against North Korea, topped the scorer list with 9 goals, breaking the single-Asia Cup scoring record set by the legendary Iranian striker Ali Daei in 1996 and becoming the most dazzling star of this cup.   The 22-year-old Ali began participating in youth training in Qatar at the age of 7. As the host of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar has suffered from chronic problems in recent years such as weak strikers and inability to score goals. The emergence of young player Ali comes at the right time. Whether it is the national team or the club, there is a bigger stage ahead, and the future is limitless.