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#3 Champions and powerhouse come crashing down
Since the start of the tournament, the road to the AFC Asian Cup final had been shaky for the defending champions Australia and most other Asian Football powerhouses. In their opening match, 2015 Asian Cup champions Australia surprisingly fell to a solitary goal against Jordan.
Though they would get back on track, the powerhouse squads of Australia, South Korea, Iran and of course, Japan fell one by one during the knockouts. The two 2015 Asian Cup finalists went out first after their respective defeats in the last eight.
Australia went down 1-0 against the host nation UAE courtesy a 68th-minute goal from Ali Mabkhout while South Korea allowed the eventual champions Qatar to score in the 78th minute via Abdulaziz Hatem.
In the semi-finals, Qatar demolished the hosts UAE, who were looking for their first trophy as well, by four goals to nothing.
Then the biggest surprise happened, when Japan fell to Qatar as the little Arab nation hoisted their first Asian Cup trophy. No need to elaborate, just let that one sink in for the moment.
