Asian Cup Football Geography: Khalifa International Stadium, the only stadium that has hosted two Asian Cups and World Cups
Asian Cup Football Geography, we continue today to walk into Qatar in Doha Sports City (actually located in Al Rayyan) to learn about Khalifa International Stadium.
V
Doha Sports City
Doha Sports City, also known as Aspire District, is located in the Baya district of Al Rayan, a satellite city of Doha.
The area is a sports-themed complex. Doha Sports City was completed in 2003. At that time, Doha, the capital of Qatar, won the right to host the 2006 Asian Games.
The Aspire Foundation is sponsored by the Baya district in Al Raiyan. In addition to the Khalifa International Stadium, Doha Sports City is home to the Hamad Aquatic Centre and the Aspire Stadium, which can accommodate 15,000 spectators and host indoor sports events such as basketball and volleyball, as well as concerts.
The local landmark is the Aspire Tower. The tower, which was used as the flame tower for the 2006 Asian Games, is also known as the Khalifa Sports Tower or the Doha Olympic Tower, and became the tallest building in Qatar when it was completed in 2007.
Khalifa Stadium: Hosted two Asian Cups and one World Cup
The vast majority of Qatar's stadiums for hosting the Asian Cup were newly built to host the 2022 World Cup, with the exception of Khalifa International Stadium. This is because the stadium has hosted three major tournaments since the 2006 Asian Games in Doha – the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar.
The stadium is named after Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar.
Khalifa International Stadium is located about 10 kilometers from the city center of Doha, such as Wakif Square and Corniche, and from Doha you can take the Metro Gold Line to the Sports City station.
Khalifa International Stadium has a modern double-arched structure in the shape of a boat, with a canopy of seating areas and effective temperature control through cooling technology.
Khalifa International Stadium is the only sports city that has hosted three major tournaments. Qatar 2011 Asian Cup. It hosted three group stage matches from Group A (Qatar, China, Uzbekistan and Kuwait). The second round of the group stage match against Qatar of the Chinese team was played at this stadium.
In that game, the Chinese team lost 0-2 to the Qatar team. In the final round, China drew 2-2 with Uzbekistan (Doha, Garafa Stadium). Ranked third in the group and missed the knockout round, and was out of the group stage of the Asian Cup for two consecutive years.
In addition, the stadium hosted the quarter-finals, with Uzbekistan beating Jordan 2-1, Australia beating Uzbekistan 6-0 in the semi-finals and the final. In that final, Japan defeated Australia 1-0 to win the Asian Cup for the fourth time.
In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Khalifa International Stadium hosted 6 group stage matches. In the final of the 2011 Asian Cup, Japan defeated Australia at this stadium to win the championship. In the World Cup, the Japanese team was also in this stadium, knocking down the German team and the Spanish team respectively.
Germany's defeat to Japan here indirectly led to their second consecutive World Cup group stage exit.
Other group stage matches hosted by Khalifa International Stadium during the Qatar 2022 World Cup:
Group B, England 6-2 Iran
Group A, Netherlands 1-1 Ecuador
Group E, Croatia 4-1 Canada
Group A, Ecuador 1-2 Senegal.
In addition to 6 group stage matches. The stadium hosted the quarterfinals during the Qatar 2022 World Cup: a 3-1 win over the United States by the Netherlands and the third- and fourth-place finals. At this stadium, Croatia defeated African dark horse Morocco 2-1 to win the third place in the World Cup.
During the Qatar 2023 Asian Cup, there will be 5 group stage matches and one 1/8 final here. The final round of the Chinese team's group stage against Qatar was played at this stadium. 13 years ago, it was at this stadium that the Chinese team lost 0-2 to Qatar, which indirectly led to the Chinese team's exit from the group stage of the Asian Cup for two consecutive years. I don't know if this time, the Chinese team will be ashamed.
Hong Kong's two group games (UAE vs Hong Kong and Hong Kong vs Iran) were also played at the stadium.
The other two group games are Saudi Arabia vs Oman in Group F and Bahrain vs Jordan in Group E.
After five group games, there will be a quarter-finals where the winners of Group D (Japan, Iraq, Vietnam, Indonesia) will face the thirds of Group B/E/F. After this match, Khalifa International Stadium will end its hosting mission for this Asian Cup.