A significant milestone was reached in AFC Asian Cup™ history on Sunday evening when the showpiece tournament of Asia witnessed its 1000th goal at the Khalifa International Stadium.
The landmark strike was scored by Philip Chan for Hong Kong, China in the 49th minute to draw them level against the United Arab Emirates in the Group C encounter at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™, which ended 3-1 to the West Asians.
Serendipitously, Chan’s goal came over 67 years on from the first ever goal in tournament history – scored by compatriot Au Chi Yin, who etched his name into the annals of the AFC Asian Cup™ after 12 minutes in the opener by breaking the deadlock at Government Stadium on 1 September 1956 in front of 30,000 spectators. Au would add a second for the hosts, thereby scoring the first ever brace in the competition’s history as well, although they were eventually defeated 3-2.
Chan’s opportunistic finish was the 13th goal of the current edition and made him the ninth player from Hong Kong, China to score in the Continental flagship, with their fourth involvement ending a 56-year absence since their previous participation in 1968.
The overall goal tally at the AFC Asian Cup™ (excluding qualifiers) would reach triple digits for the first time at the 1972 edition. Korea Republic legend Lee Hoe-taik grabbed their second in the 59th minute against Cambodia (then Khmer Republic), which was the 100th goal, en-route to a 4-1 win in Group B at the National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on 10 May.
The turn of the millennium brought about the 500th goal in Asia’s crown jewel. Attacking midfielder Qi Hong drew China PR level at 1-1 against Japan in their Semi-final clash on 26 October at the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, with the Samurai Blue going on to prevail 3-2 to advance to the Final, where they defeated Saudi Arabia to lift the 2000 AFC Asian Cup™.
The magical 1000 figure moved into clearer view after the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019™, which finished with a remarkable 130 goals – the first time that any edition had broken the 100-goal mark – and saw the all-time total surge to 987.
Reigning champions Qatar made it 990 with their 3-0 victory over Lebanon on Friday evening, where Almoez Ali scored his 10th AFC Asian Cup™ goal to draw level with former Korea Republic forward Lee Dong-gook on the all-time scoring charts – second only to Islamic Republic of Iran icon Ali Daei’s 14.
With 44 matches left to play in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™, passionate fans of Asian football can certainly look forward to many more goals in the tournament.
