The group stages of the AFC Asian Cup were completed on Thursday and the last four teams to qualify were Bahrain, Jordan, South Korea, and Thailand.
Four ‘third-placed’ best teams were confirmed for the Round of 16, following the completion of the group stage. Syria, Palestine, Oman, and Jordan were the four teams that finished in third place of their respective groups but still managed to qualify for the knockouts.
In this year’s AFC Asian Cup competition, 24 teams participated, and each team played the other in a single-match round-robin format. Two top teams from each group qualified directly with the four best third-placed teams.
Iran, Qatar, and Iraq were the three teams that won all of their three matches in the group and finished with maximum points (9).
China and India remained the only two teams who scored 0 goals throughout the competition, whereas Hong Kong, Vietnam along with India were the only three teams to gain 0 points in the group stage with underwhelming performances.
All matches of the Round of 16 will be held from January 28 to January 31 with the quarterfinals taking place on February 2 and February 3. Semifinals of the tournament are scheduled on February 6 and February 7. The final of the competition will be played on February 10.
Here is the Schedule for the Round of 16:
| Match | Venue | Time |
| Australia vs Indonesia | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium | January 28, 4.30 pm PST |
| Tajikistan vs UAE | Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium | January 28, 9.00 pm PST |
| Iraq vs Jordan | Khalifa Internation Stadium | January 29, 4.30 pm PST |
| Qatar vs Palestine | Al Bayt Stadium | January 29, 9.00 pm PST |
| Uzbekistan vs Thailand | Al Janoub Stadium Park | January 30, 4.30 pm PST |
| Saudi Arabia vs South Korea | Education City Stadium | January 30, 9.00 pm PST |
| Bahrain vs Japan | Al Thumama Stadium | January 31, 4.30 pm PST |
| Iran vs Syria | Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium | January 31, 9.00 pm PST |