Most AFC Asian Cup Titles: Japan Top List With 4 Championships, Saudi Arabia and Iran Tied for 2nd

• Japan has won the most AFC Asian Cup titles, with four
• They won the championship in 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2011
• Iran and Saudi Arabia are tied for second with three titles apiece

The 2023 AFC Asian Cup is finally here.

Since the inaugural competition in 1956, the Asian Cup has produced nine different champions in 17 editions.

Sports Brief looks at the teams with the most Asian Cup titles ahead of this year’s tournament in Qatar.

Countries with the most Asian Cup championships

Japan (4 titles)

Samurai Blue holds the record for the most Asian Cup titles in the event's history, with four, per Goal.com.

They first captured the championship in 1992, beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final. Takuya Takagi starred for Japan in that contest, scoring the match-winner in the 36th minute.

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They waited eight years to claim their second championship, with Japan recording another 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the 2000 final in Lebanon. Shigeyoshi Mochizuki scored the winning goal in the 30th minute.

They successfully defended their Asian Cup title in 2004, beating hosts China 3-1 in the final. Koji Nakata and Keiji Tamada sealed the victory for Japan with goals in the second half.

Japan's fourth Asian Cup title came in 2011 when they beat Australia in the final in Qatar. Tadanari Lee was the hero for Samurai Blue, scoring the game's lone goal in the 109th minute.

Iran (3 titles)

Iran is the first and only team in Asian Cup history to win three consecutive titles.

They first won the championship in 1968 when a round-robin format was still used to determine the winner.

The hosts finished above Burma, Israel, Republic of China, and Hong Kong in the five-team tournament, winning all four of their group matches.

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They successfully defended their Asian Cup title in 1972, beating South Korea 2-1 in the final. Hossein Kalani starred for Iran in that contest, scoring the match-winner in the 109th minute.

Iran's third and last Asian Cup crown came in 1976 when they beat Kuwait in the final in Tehran. Ali Parvin sent the home fans into a frenzy with his championship-winning goal in the 71st minute.

Saudi Arabia (3 titles)

Saudi Arabia won their first Asian Cup title in 1984, beating China 2-0 in the final in Singapore.

Shaye Al-Nafisah opened the scoring in the 10th minute to give the Saudis a dream start. Majed Abdullah then sealed the win with a goal in the 46th minute.

They successfully defended their Asian Cup championship in 1988, beating South Korea in the final. The match went into a penalty shootout after both sides went scoreless in regulation and extra time.

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Saudi Arabia held their nerve in the shootout, beating the South Koreans 4-3.

Saudi Arabia's third and last Asian Cup title came in 1996 when they beat the United Arab Emirates in the final. The Saudis broke the hearts of the home supporters, beating UAE 4-2 in the penalty shootout, per Gulf News.

South Korea (2 titles)

The first two Asian Cup editions were won by South Korea in 1956 and 1960 when the tournament still employed a round-robin format to determine the champion.

They finished above Israel, Hong Kong, and South Vietnam in 1956 to win the first-ever Asian Cup.

They defended their title in 1960, finishing above Israel, Republic of China, and South Vietnam in the four-team tournament.

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