Billed as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, the 2011 Asian Cup was nothing of the sort.
Qatar's win in the December vote for the 2022 World Cup hosting rights led to a storm of criticism, and put the spotlight on the Asian Cup like never before.
The Gulf nation looked to be passing the first test quite comfortably until Saturday's final, when several thousand fans were refused entry to the 40,000-seat Khalifah Stadium despite holding tickets for the match between Australia and Japan.
It was the first major organizational hitch in the tournament, and perhaps it proved Qatar still has lessons to learn about handling big sporting events.
The main criticism up until Saturday had been the rows of empty seats at many games, but a look back at previous tournaments shows that is a common problem at the Asian Cup, which is still catching up with its continental equivalents.
''We would like to see our competition is comparable to the best in the world. This is a target,'' Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed bin Hammam said last week.
Not many sporting events, let alone soccer tournaments, are comparable to the World Cup.
Visiting fans, other than from neighboring countries, were a rare sight at the Asian Cup. In 2022, thousands of supporters from across the globe will descend on Qatar, and the locals should be more willing to turn out to watch the world's best teams and their star players than they were to watch the best that Asia has to offer.
Indeed, while soccer is Qatar's most popular sport, fans are more likely to be found avidly watching Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United on the TV than heading to a stadium and supporting their local club.
And some of the fans who did travel to Qatar for the tournament left angry after being shut out of the final. The gates to the Khalifah Stadium closed shortly after kickoff, even though thousands of fans were still waiting to get in, and organizers said the tight security was due to members of the royal family attending the match.
They promised to examine what went wrong, and insisted only about 700 of those shut out were ticket holders. But that will do little to appease those fans who missed Japan's 1-0 win after being turned away at the gates.
''We should be allowed to enter,'' said Sameh Abu Assi, who had driven nearly 1,000 miles from Saudi Arabia and said he spent $2,000 on hotels and tickets. ''How do they expect to organize the 2022 World Cup? They can't even organize this.''
What's clear is that Qatar, for better or worse, will produce a World Cup like no other.
Soccer and beer are inseparable partners for most fans, but alcohol is available only in licensed bars in mainly five-star hotels - and at a high price. A Budweiser, one of the official sponsors of the World Cup, can cost nearly $10.
Ae-young, a 27-year-old South Korean who lives in the United Arab Emirates and came to Qatar for the Asian Cup, described Doha as a city that ''sleeps early.''
''It is not like in Korea where life is 24 hours,'' she said. ''And the places we do go to have fun are all closed, and cost a lot.''
The alcohol restrictions are expected to be relaxed in time for the World Cup, with drinking allowed in designated fan zones, but rowdy reveling seems unlikely to be tolerated. In its place, visitors are encouraged to visit the Corniche, take boat trips, wander through the Museum of Islamic Art, or shop in one of the many air-conditioned malls or at the Souq Waqif.
If none of those options are appealing, fans will end up spending most of their time at soccer matches. Qatar will be the smallest country to have hosted a World Cup, a fact the bid committee was keen to play up.
''We promoted a compact World Cup,'' Bin Hammam said. ''We told the world: Please come and feel how much more comfortable a World Cup can be organized in a small country.''
It is possible to drive around the entire country in less than a day, and with World Cup venues no more than an hour apart, dedicated fans could squeeze in three matches in 24 hours.
At the Asian Cup, every game took place in Doha or within a short drive, although the city's oppressive traffic meant 15-minute journeys could take more like an hour. There is no public transportation to speak of, but Qatar plans to build a new rail network and metro system, and provide a shuttle bus system in 2022.
With a bulging budget and several space-age stadiums planned, one of which will be wrapped in video screens, 2022 promises to be a World Cup to satisfy tech-heads and gadget geeks, too.
The attitude of this gas-rich nation was summed up by Bora Milutinovic, an ambassador for the bid who has coached five different nations at World Cup tournaments.
''Whatever might become a problem, won't be a problem,'' the Serb said. ''It's not only a matter of money, it's how it is spent. Qatar buys the best possible professional advice.''
Providing cheaper hotels will take up part of the multibillion dollar budget: five-stars far outnumber two-stars in Doha. But dealing with the weather is a bigger problem, even with the Qatari billions. Ex-pats appreciate the nation's safe, family friendly environment and the ease of daily life, but all agree that summer heat topping out at 120 degrees can be unbearable.
Derek Lyon, a Scotsman teaching at a school outside Doha, talks of taking his dog for a walk in the height of summer and the dog having ''had enough after five minutes.''
''I went to the game at Al-Sadd Stadium they organized when the FIFA inspectors were here, and the air conditioning was used. It was amazing,'' Lyons said. ''But you can't air-condition a whole country.''
The debate seems set to rumble on for a while, but it would not be a major surprise if, as FIFA President Sepp Blatter has already proposed, the World Cup is moved to the Qatari winter months. Bin Hammam initially opposed the move, but seems to have softened his stance of late.
For now, he is happy that the Asian Cup has passed without more fuel for the critics' fire.
''For me,'' he said, ''it was actually more an opportunity for those who have less confidence in Qatar's capability of organizing a World Cup, to witness for themselves what can be done.
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AP Sports Writers Michael Casey and Nesha Starcevic contributed to this report.
