Iran, UAE, Palestine move on to knockout stage in AFC Asian Cup; Hong Kong eliminated

More than half of the AFC Asian Cup's round of 16 has been determined after Tuesday's thrilling Group C conclusion.

Reigning Asian Cup champions and host Qatar and Tajikistan move on from Group A. Australia and Uzbekistan continue on from Group B, and Iran and the United Arab Emirates topped Group C. In addition, Syria and Palestine clinched spots as two of the four best third-place teams and will move on.

Groups D, E and F have yet to be decided, though all three groups feature tight races between the 12 teams vying for the final six spots in the knockout stage.

Here's the latest news from the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

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Palestine overcome odds to clinch spot in knockout round

Before Tuesday, Palestine had never won a game in the Asian Cup. In both of their previous two appearances, they were eliminated in the group stage without wins.

Entering Tuesday's Group C finale, Palestine trailed UAE in the group standings by three points and five goals in goal differential. An exceptionally strong win over Hong Kong plus a big UAE loss to Iran would give Palestine a chance at taking a top two spot in the group. They needed a win to move on as a top third-place finisher.

Palestine nearly pushed themselves into the top two in Group C. They defeated Hong Kong, 3-0, for their first Asian Cup win, and Iran beat UAE in the other, concurrent match, 2-1.

UAE nearly lost 2-0, which would have pushed Palestine into the top spots in their group, but a Yahya Al-Ghassani goal in stoppage time put them on the board late. It was enough to keep their goal differential just above Palestine's.

Still, Palestine's three points, even goal differential (±0) and five goals scored in the group stage were enough to clinch a spot as one of the best third-place teams. They move on to the round of 16.

Who qualifies for Asian Cup's round of 16?

Unlike the FIFA World Cup, which features eight groups in the first round, the AFC Asian Cup has just six groups to start the tournament. As a result, the two top teams from each group aren't the only ones to qualify for the knockout stage.

The remaining four spots in the round of 16 are filled by the four best finishers among third-place teams.

Syria's win over India (1-0) and Palestine's win over Hong Kong on Tuesday morning were enough for both victors to clinch spots as one of those four third-place teams.

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2023 AFC Asian Cup knockout stage qualifiers

As of Tuesday morning, here's who's into the round of 16 in the Asian Cup.

Group A

• Qatar (winners)

• Tajikistan (runners-up)

Group B

• Australia (winners)

• Uzbekistan (runners-up)

• Syria (top third-place team)

Group C

• Iran (winners)

• UAE (runners-up)

• Palestine (top third-place team)

Group D

• Iraq (clinched top spot)

Group E

No team has officially clinched a knockout stage spot in Group E.

Group F

• Saudi Arabia (clinched top spot)

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Asian Cup teams vying for final spots

There are six spots remaining in the tournament's round of 16 with just two matchdays left to play in the remaining three groups. Here's who can still qualify.

Group D

• Japan (guaranteed at least top three)

• Indonesia (guaranteed at least top three)

Group E

• Jordan (guaranteed top three)

• South Korea (guaranteed top three)

• Bahrain (guaranteed top three)

Group F

• Thailand (guaranteed top three)

• Oman (currently third place)

• Kyrgyzstan (cannot reach top two, could still advance as third-place team)

Third-place teams standings

Here's how the current third-place teams stack up.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AFC Asian Cup 2023: Group stage updates, round of 16 teams