The match was held at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on 1 February 2019 and was contested by Japan and Qatar.

Japan had won in each of its four previous AFC Asian Cup finals, while Qatar were playing in their first, which they managed to reach without conceding a goal in the prior six matches.

[16] In their opening match of the Asian Cup, Japan faced Turkmenistan and conceded a goal in the 26th minute, a long-range strike by Arslanmyrat Amanow, and entered halftime trailing 1–0.

Former Barcelona youth coach Félix Sánchez was named the manager of the U-23 and senior national teams in 2017, cultivating an attack-oriented style and utilizing young talents who had emerged since the World Cup announcement.

[36] The team was affected by the ongoing diplomatic dispute between Qatar and a coalition of Middle Eastern and Muslim nations led by Saudi Arabia and including hosts United Arab Emirates, causing them to take indirect flights and being denied access to federation officials and journalists.

[37][38] Qatar were drawn into Group E and opened their Asian Cup campaign against Lebanon, winning 2–0 on second-half goals by center-back Bassam Al-Rawi and forward Almoez Ali.

[43][44] The team faced Iraq in the round of 16 and won 1–0, with the lone goal of the match coming from a free kick scored by Iraqi-born Bassam Al-Rawi in the 62nd minute.

[45] Qatar then played against 2015 runners-up South Korea, which had managed to eliminate Germany in the 2018 FIFA World Cup earlier before, in the quarter-finals and created the biggest shock in the tournament, a 1–0 win on a goal from Abdulaziz Hatem in the 78th minute, setting up a semi-finals match against hosts United Arab Emirates.

[46] The semi-final, dubbed the second installment of the "Blockade Derby",[47] was played in front of 38,646 spectators at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, where hostile Emirati supporters threw sandals and water bottles at Qatari players.

[49] A goal by Hassan Al-Haydos in the 80th minute and substitute Hamid Ismail in stoppage time gave Qatar a 4–0 win to help them reach their first Asian Cup final.

[55] The appeal was filed on residency grounds per Article 7 of the FIFA statutes, which states a player is eligible to play for a representative team if he has "lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant association".

[55][58] On 1 February 2019, hours prior to the final, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee ruled in favour of Qatar national team and dismissed the protest lodged by the UAEFA.

[59][60] The match kicked off at 18:00 local time in Abu Dhabi at Zayed Sports City Stadium, in front of an announced attendance of 36,776 spectators, including several thousand Omanis.

[64] Abdulaziz Hatem scored Qatar's next goal in the 27th minute, shooting from 25 yards (75 ft) past Japanese goalkeeper Shūichi Gonda towards the top corner.

[63] Japan regained possession and found several scoring chances before and after halftime, including a missed header from Yoshinori Muto and several corner kicks, but were unable to produce a shot on goal.

[1] According to Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera, Emirati newspapers emphasized that Japan lost the final, reflecting the ongoing diplomatic rift between Qatar and the UAE.