AFC Asian Cup 2019: Live stream, TV listings, full schedule, groups and venues

The 17^th edition of the AFC Asian Cup will commence on Saturday, January 5 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and 24 teams across Asia will battle it out to be declared the best team in the continent.

When do the matches start and where to watch them

None of the matches will start before 6 pm local time, 4:30 pm IST and 11 am BST. The specific time of every match is listed below under the 'Full Schedule' section.

In India, Star Sports 3 will provide the live television coverage of the tournament in English. The matches will also be available in multiple regional languages across the Star Sports network. Live streaming will be available on Hotstar.

AFC Asian Cup 2019 preview

India heads into the tournament ranked 97 in the world and 15in the continent. They have been placed in a tough group alongside hosts Thailand, Bahrain and hosts UAE.

The 24 teams have been divided into six groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the round of 16 and the remaining for spots will be filled by the four best third-placed teams.

There are plenty of strong teams in the tournament and it is difficult to pick an outright favourite but going by the performances in the World Cup, South Korea and Japan will fancy their chances of going all the way.

Japan will be eager to avenge their defeat to South Korea in the final of the Asian Games last year but hosts UAE cannot be discounted either given their third-place finish in the multisport competition. Australia and Iran are also in with a shout of going deep into the tournament.

The final of the tournament will be held at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on February 1.

Groups

GROUP A: UAE, Bahrain, India, Thailand

GROUP B: Australia, Syria, Jordan, Palestine

GROUP C: South Korea, China, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines

GROUP D: Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Yemen

GROUP E: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, North Korea

GROUP F: Japan, Uzbekistan, Oman, Turkmenistan

Venues

• Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
• Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
• Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
• Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
• Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
• Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
• Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
• Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah

Full Schedule (IST)

January 5

9:30 pm – UAE vs Bahrain

January 6

4:30 pm – Australia vs Jordan

7 pm – Thailand vs India

9:30 pm – Syria vs Palestine

January 7

4:30 pm – China vs Kyrgyzstan

7 pm – South Korea vs Philippines

9:30 pm – Iran vs Yemen

January 8

7 pm – Iraq vs Vietnam

9:30 pm – Saudi Arabia vs North Korea

January 9

4:30 pm – Japan vs Turkmenistan

7 pm – Uzbekistan vs Oman

9:30 pm – Qatar vs Lebanon

January 10

4:30 pm – Bahrain vs Thailand  

7 pm – Jordan vs Syria

9:30 pm – India vs UAE

January 11

4:30 pm – Palestine vs Australia

7 pm – Philippines vs China

9:30 pm – Kyrgyzstan vs South Korea

January 12

4:30 pm – Vietnam vs Iran

7 pm – Yemen vs Iraq

9:30 pm – Lebanon vs Saudi Arabia

January 13

4:30 pm – North Korea vs Qatar

7 pm – Oman vs Japan

9:30 pm – Turkmenistan vs Uzbekistan

January 14

9:30 pm – UAE vs Thailand

9:30 pm – India vs Bahrain

January 15

7 pm – Palestine vs Jordan

7 pm – Australia vs Syria

January 16

7 pm – South Korea vs China

7 pm – Kyrgyzstan vs Philippines

9:30 pm – Vietnam vs Yemen

9:30 pm – Iran vs Iraq

January 17

7 pm – Oman vs Turkmenistan

7 pm – Japan vs Uzbekistan

9:30 pm – Lebanon vs North Korea

9:30 pm – Saudi Arabia vs Qatar

Round of 16:

January 20

4:30 pm – 1^st Group B vs 3^rd Group A/C/D (RO1)

7:30 pm – 2nd Group A vs 2^nd Group C (RO2)

10:30 pm – 1^st Group D vs 3^rd Group B/E/F (RO3)

January 21

4:30 pm – 1^st Group F vs 2^nd Group E (RO4)

7:30 pm – 2^nd Group B vs 2^nd Group F (RO5)

10:30 pm – 1^st Group vs 3^rd Group C/D/E(RO6)

January 22

6:30 pm – 1^st Group C vs 3^rd Group A/B/F (RO7)

9:30 pm – 1^st Group E vs 2^nd Group D (RO8)

Quarterfinal

January 24

6:30 pm – Winner RO1 vs Winner RO4 (QF1)

9:30 pm – Winner RO2 vs Winner RO3 (QF2)

January 24

6:30 pm – Winner RO7 vs Winner RO8 (QF3)

9:30 pm – Winner RO6 vs Winner RO5 (QF4)

Semifinal

January 28

7:30 pm – Winner QF2 vs Winner QF1 (SF1)

January 29

7:30 pm – Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4 (SF2)

Final

February 1 – Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2

 Global TV listings 

• Arab League: beIN Sports
• Asia-Pacific: Fox International Channels
• Australia: Fox Sports, ABC
• Brazil: SporTV
• China: CCTV
• Europe: Eurosport
• Hong Kong: Now TV
• Indonesia: Sindo TV
• Iran: IRIB
• Japan: TV Asahi, NHK BS1
• Malaysia: TV3
• New Zealand: Sky Sport
• North America: ONE World Sports
• South Africa: SABC
• South Korea: KBS, SBS, MBC
• Thailand: Channel 7
• Philippines: ABS-CBN Sports+Action
• Uzbekistan: SPORT-UZ