Who has won most Asian Cups? Complete list of champions & most successful teams

The AFC Asian Cup is the world's second-oldest continental football championship, at 68 years old.

The 2023 event, which will be the 18th edition of the tournament, brings 24 national sides together in Qatar in the battle to lift the coveted international trophy in Asian football.

2019 champions Qatar will be hosting the tournament and will be aiming to retain the championship. However, they face stiff competition from Asian heavyweights like South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia, who will all be vying for continental glory – but which nation has been the most successful in the competition?

Goal takes a look.

Which team has won the most Asian Cups?

The AFC Asian Cup has been won by nine different national teams since its inception in 1956. However, five of those sides have only won a single title, including Qatar, Kuwait, Israel, Australia, and Iraq.

Japan emerged as one of the most successful teams in Asia, having qualified for the last seven FIFA World Cups, with second-round progression in 2002, 2010, 2018, and 2022. The Samurai Blue have won the AFC Asian Cup a record four times, with three titles since 2000.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are the next most successful sides, having won the Asian Cup three times each. The Falcons have reached a joint-record six Asian Cup finals and have qualified for the World Cup on six occasions since debuting in the 1994 season.

Iran, meanwhile, were the highest-ranked team in Asia from December 2014 to May 2018. They held the longest period of time that a team has retained that status.

South Korea have also developed into a major football power in Asia since the 1980s, and are regular fixture at the FIFA World Cups, having participated in 10 consecutive and 11 overall tournaments, which is the record for an Asian country. In the AFC Asian Cup, they have had hard luck, with no titles since 1960, and finished as runners-up in the competition on four occasions.

AFC Asian Cup all-time winners