AFC Asian Cup by the numbers: Iran and Saudi Arabia chase Japan and can South Korea end their drought?

With the AFC Asian Cup underway, here's a look at the tournament by the numbers

On Friday, reigning champions and AFC Asian Cup hosts Qatar kicked off the tournament with a strong 3-0 victory over Lebanon. Led by a brace from Akram Afif, Qatar got their campaign off to a good start but it will be tough to fend off Japan and South Korea for the title. If Qatar are able to win the tournament, they'd become the fifth nation to go back-to-back joining Japan, South Korea, Saudia Arabia, and Iran.

Let's take a look at some other numbers that could define the tournament and records that can be broken. All the fixtures and standings for the tournament can be found here.

You can watch the tournament on Paramount+ with select games on CBS Sports Golazo Network.

Data courtesy of InsideSport

68: Matches played by Iran in the Asian Cup

One of the most consistent nations in the history of the Asian Cup, Iran already hold the record for games played in the tournament, but it's one that can be extended with a deep run. Iran also have the most wins in the tournament with 41 and can tie Japan for the most Asian Cup titles with five if they are to win the tournament. With an attack led by Mehdi Taremi, goals won't be hard to come by for Iran, so their performance will be determined by how they can defend against some of the top attacks.

5: AFC Asian Cup titles by Japan

Already with the most titles of any nation in the Asian Cup, Japan are the favorites in the tournament for a good reason. In their last five matches, Japan have scored 23 goals while only conceding one goal, which is quite impressive form to come into a tournament in. If Japan can do even half of that in the knockout stages they'll have no issue at least making the final again, even without the trio of Kyogo Furuhashi, Daichi Kamada, and Ao Tanaka who are all out of the squad.

4: Cup titles by Saudi Arabia and Iran

While we've already touched on Iran's success, Saudi Arabia is another nation that is rising as a soccer power. With one of the biggest upsets ever in defeating Argentina during the World Cup in Qatar, and a domestic league that has growing star power, Saudi Arabia have improved, but they haven't lifted the title since 1996. It has been even longer for Iran who won three consecutive tournaments, but last triumphed in 1976. So for one of these teams to tie Japan, quite a drought would need to end.

1960: The last time South Korea won the tournament 

Coached by a familiar name to people in the United States in Jurgen Klinsmann, the former United States men's national team coach, this may be one of South Korea's best chances to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years. Son Heung-Min  and Hwang Hee-Chan have been in excellent form in the Premier League with 22 goals between them this season, while Kim Min-Jae has been excellent since his move to Bayern Munich to anchor the defense.