Spectacular. Otherworldly. Brilliant. These are some of the words that have been used to describe Tim Cahill’s absolute stunner against China. The overhead kick showed technique, positional awareness, and above all, audacity, something that sets the gifted apart from the Heskeys. This contender for “goal of the tournament” shows that Cahill still hasn’t lost it. It looks set to make it into one of those YouTube goal compilations with the annoyingly catchy Basshunter tune playing in the background. Besides the former Everton star, other big names to have graced this year’s Cup are Japan’s Keisuke Honda and South Korea’s talismanic striker Son Heung-Min.

Established players aside, this Asian Cup has also seen its fair share of emerging talent, like Australia’s Massimo Luongo. A relative unknown just six months ago and a benchwarmer at the World Cup, Luongo’s surprise selection against Kuwait received some criticism. But the youngster responded emphatically with a solid performance against Oman in the group stages. Besides silencing his critics, Luongo has perhaps left Tottenham Hotspur wondering if they sold off Australia’s “golden boy” a little too soon.
Another player to look out for in the future is Japan’s Yoshinori Muto. Still a student, Muto has managed to juggle his studies with leading the line for Japan. While he has had a relatively quiet Asian Cup, with just one assist, his assured performance against Iraq showed the glimpses of a star. Sharp, pacey and good on the ball, Muto’s greatest asset is his age. Coming off the back of an impressive debut season for FC Tokyo, Muto can only get better.

But football is not just about personalities. Goals, comebacks and upsets are what fans crave and the Asian Cup has consistently delivered. Amongst the higher scoring games of the tournament were Jordan’s 5-1 win against a hapless Palestinian team, while Australia left its fans delighted after putting four past Kuwait and Oman. China, who recently exited the cup after a quarter-final defeat to Australia, will be better remembered for their inspired comeback against Uzbekistan in the tournament’s group stages.

Everybody loves the story of an underdog, and the biggest upset of the Asian Cup thus far has been Japan’s exit at the hands of a resilient and tenacious United Arab Emirates team. Despite dominating possession, the Japanese were creating few chances, and were unusually profligate when they did. The UAE, meanwhile, were happy to sit back, soak in the pressure and stick to their defensive game plan. What was strikingly clear, however, was that the Emiratis simply wanted the win more than the Japanese, who unfortunately will not be lifting the trophy for a record fifth time.

Iraq’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Iran has arguably been the game of the tournament thus far. It had goals, drama, controversial refereeing decisions, and most importantly, heart. Referee Ben Williams’ questionable decision to send Mehrdad Pooladi off left Iran deeply frustrated and they saw their lead evaporate with Iraq pulling level in the second half. With the score tied at 1-1, the game went into extra time where it well and truly sparked into life. Iraq took the lead twice only to have Iran equalize each time, the latter’s numerical disadvantage on the pitch more than made up for by their strength in character. It was not meant to be for Iran, however, as they lost 7-6 to Iraq in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Every tournament has that moment, which takes it out of the footballing sphere and propels it into the public consciousness, either because it was really heartwarming or because it was fascinatingly and inexplicably amusing; the famous Paul the Octopus is a perfect example. The 2015 Asian Cup’s ‘moment of the tournament’ falls very much into the latter category. A penalty was awarded to Saudi Arabia in their game against China. Ignoring the coaching staff’s pre-match penalty advice, Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei opted to go with the advice of 12 year old “ballboy-slash-budding-goalkeeper” Stephan White. Stephan picked left, Wang Dalei went for it and, amazingly, the Saudi Arabians were thwarted. The tournament’s unlikely lucky charm is now a bit of a cult hero in China.

Usually maligned and ignored by the footballing community, this year’s Asian Cup has been different from previous editions, receiving more widespread recognition. Maybe it is because of the novelty factor, with Australia hosting the tournament for the first time, or perhaps Asian teams are playing better football than they have previously. While Asian football is probably a few years away from reaching the giddy heights of the 2002 World Cup, where South Korea stunned nations like Italy, Spain and Portugal en route to a fourth placed finish, the Asian Cup has shown that Asian football is heading in the right direction.