Asian Cup semifinals to kick off

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup semifinal matches will be played on Monday and Tuesday.

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup is the men's football championship of Asia organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup kicked off in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Jan. 5.

On Monday, four-time champion Japan will play against three-time champion Iran in a semifinal match in Abu Dhabi.

Japan is the most successful team in the Asian Cup with four titles, followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia with three apiece.

On Tuesday, host country UAE will face Qatar.

Qatar advanced to the semifinals for the first time by beating two-time champion South Korea.

The UAE's biggest success in the tournament was to play in the 1996 Asian Cup final.

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup final will be on Feb. 1.