AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Squad stats and facts

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After the Subway Socceroos' AFC Asian Cup 2023™ squad was announced, renowned football statistician Andrew Howe provided some fascinating insights.

Check out all the key statistics ahead of next month's tournament.

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Australia's 26-player AFC Asian Cup 2023™ squad:

  • Has three uncapped players, and a combined experience of 406 Subway Socceroo appearances for the remaining 23 players.
     
  • Has an average age of 27.0 years
     
  • Has players born in all six Australian states, and players born in Europe, Africa and South America
     
  • Has players currently playing in nine different countries, including four Isuzu UTE A-League players
     
  • Has three players with previous AFC Asian Cup experience, including Aziz Behich and Mat Ryan who will be playing in their third AFC Asian Cup, an equal record for Australian players.

The 2023 edition in Qatar is the fifth AFC Asian Cup that Australia has qualified for, the first being in 2007:

  •  Compared to previous AFC Asian Cups, the 2023 squad will be the youngest Australian squad on record with an average age of 27.1 years at the start of the tournament, just younger than the 2019 squad (27.2 years)
     
  •  The combined national team appearances (406) is the least of any previous Australian squad, the previous lowest being in 2007 (498 appearances, 23 player-squad)
     
  •  Should Jordan Bos make an appearance, he would become the youngest Australian to play at an AFC Asian Cup (21 years 2 months), the current youngest being Mark Milligan in 2007 (21 years 11 months)
     
  • Should Bruno Fornaroli make an appearance, he would become the second-oldest Australian to play at an AFC Asian Cup (36 years 4 months), the current oldest being goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer in 2011 (38 years 4 months); Fornaroli would become the oldest outfield player, the current oldest outfield player being Tim Cahill in 2015 (35 years 1 month)
     
  •  Currently Tim Cahill has made the most AFC Asian Cup appearances of any Australian player (16 appearances) and scored the most goals (6 goals); of the current squad Mat Ryan has made the most AFC Asian Cup appearances (11)

AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ - Australia's Group B Matches

Australia v India
Date: Saturday, 13 January 2024
Venue: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Kick-off: 2:30pm local, 10:30pm (AEDT)
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+

Syria v Australia
Date: Thursday, 18 January 2024
Venue: Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Kick-off: 2:30pm local, 10:30pm (AEDT)
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+

Australia v Uzbekistan
Date: Tuesday, 23 January 2024
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Kick-off: 2:30pm local, 10:30pm (AEDT)
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+

A PDF version of the Match Schedule can be found HERE.