2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification

2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
Tournament details
Host countriesQatar (Group A)
Bahrain (Group B)
Iran (Group C)
Saudi Arabia (Group D)
Kuwait (Group E)
Uzbekistan (Group F)
Mongolia (Group G)
Cambodia (Group H)
Myanmar (Group I)
Malaysia (Group J)
Vietnam (Group K)
Dates22–26 March 2019[1]
Teams43 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)13 (in 11 host cities)
Tournament statistics
Matches played63
Goals scored240 (3.81 per match)
Attendance194,470 (3,087 per match)
Top scorer(s)South Korea Lee Dong-gyeong (6 goals)
← 2018
2022 →

The 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification was an international men's under-23 football competition which decide the participating teams of the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship.

A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Thailand who qualified automatically as hosts country.[2] These matches also served as the first stage of the AFC qualifiers for the 2020 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Japan.

Draw

Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 44 teams entered the competition. The final tournament hosts Thailand decided to participate in qualification despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament.

The draw was held on 7 November 2018, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3][4] The 44 teams were drawn into eleven groups of four teams. For the draw, teams were divided into two zones:

  • West Zone: 24 teams from West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia, to be drawn into six groups of four teams (Groups A–F).
  • East Zone: 20 teams from ASEAN and East Asia, to be drawn into five groups of four teams (Groups G–K).

The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship final tournament and qualification (overall ranking shown in parentheses; NR stands for non-ranked teams). The following restrictions were also applied:[5]

  • The eleven teams which indicated their intention to serve as qualification group hosts prior to the draw were drawn into separate groups.
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
West Zone
  1.  Uzbekistan (1) (H)
  2.  Qatar (3) (H)
  3.  Iraq (5)
  4.  Palestine (6)
  5.  Jordan (12)
  6.  Saudi Arabia (13) (H)
  1.  Syria (14)
  2.  Oman (15)
  3.  Iran (17) (H)
  4.  United Arab Emirates (19)
  5.  Tajikistan (21)
  6.  Bahrain (26) (H)
  1.  Lebanon (27)
  2.  India (28)
  3.  Kyrgyzstan (29)
  4.  Turkmenistan (31)
  5.    Nepal (34)
  6.  Bangladesh (37)
  1.  Afghanistan (38)
  2.  Kuwait (NR) (H)
  3.  Maldives (NR)
  4.  Pakistan (NR) (W)
  5.  Sri Lanka (NR)
  6.  Yemen (NR)
East Zone
  1.  Vietnam (2) (H)
  2.  South Korea (4)
  3.  Malaysia (7) (H)
  4.  Japan (8)
  5.  North Korea (9)
  1.  China (10)
  2.  Australia (11)
  3.  Thailand (16) (Q)
  4.  Myanmar (18) (H)
  5.  Hong Kong (20)
  1.  Cambodia (22) (H)
  2.  Indonesia (23)
  3.  Timor-Leste (24)
  4.  Laos (25)
  5.  Singapore (30)
  1.  Mongolia (32) (H)
  2.  Brunei (33)
  3.  Philippines (35)
  4.  Chinese Taipei (36)
  5.  Macau (39) (N)
Notes
  • Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
  • (H): Qualification group hosts
  • (N): Not a member of the International Olympic Committee, ineligible for Olympics
  • (Q): Final tournament hosts, automatically qualified regardless of qualification results
  • (W): Withdrew after draw
Did not enter
West Zone
East Zone
  •  Guam
  •  Northern Mariana Islands (N)

Player eligibility

Players born on or after 1 January 1997 are eligible to compete in the tournament.[6]

Format

In each group, teams play each other once at a centralized venue. The eleven group winners and the four best runners-up qualify for the final tournament. If the final tournament hosts Thailand win their group or are among the four best runners-up, the fifth best runner-up also qualifies for the final tournament.

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3).[6]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

Groups

The matches were played between 22 and 26 March 2019.

Schedule
Matchday Dates Matches
Groups A–E, G–J Group F
Matchday 1 22 March 2019 1 v 4, 2 v 3 3 v 1
Matchday 2 24 March 2019 4 v 2, 3 v 1 2 v 3
Matchday 3 26 March 2019 1 v 2, 3 v 4 1 v 2

Group A

  • All matches were held in Qatar.
  • Times listed are UTC+3.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Qatar (H) 3 2 1 0 9 2 +7 7 Final tournament
2  Oman 3 2 1 0 5 3 +2 7
3  Afghanistan 3 1 0 2 3 4 −1 3
4    Nepal 3 0 0 3 0 8 −8 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Oman 1–0   Nepal
  • Al-Malki 13'
 Report
Attendance: 600
Referee: Dmitriy Mashentsev (Kyrgyzstan)
Qatar 2–0 Afghanistan
 Report
Attendance: 900
Afghanistan 1–2 Oman
 Report
Attendance: 150
Nepal   0–5 Qatar
Report
Attendance: 850
Referee: Lau Fong Hei (Hong Kong)
Qatar 2–2 Oman
  • Palang 50', 73'
 Report
Attendance: 900
Referee: Dmitriy Mashentsev (Kyrgyzstan)
Nepal   0–2 Afghanistan
Report
Attendance: 147

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Bahrain (H) 3 3 0 0 12 0 +12 9 Final tournament
2  Palestine 3 2 0 1 10 2 +8 6
3  Bangladesh 3 1 0 2 2 2 0 3
4  Sri Lanka 3 0 0 3 0 20 −20 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Palestine 9–0 Sri Lanka
 Report
Attendance: 1,162
Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)
Bahrain 1–0 Bangladesh
 Report
Attendance: 8,500
Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan)
Bangladesh 0–1 Palestine
Report
  • Abdallah 22'
Attendance: 2,583
Sri Lanka 0–9 Bahrain
Report
Attendance: 2,746
Bangladesh 2–0 Sri Lanka
 Report
Attendance: 2,789
Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)
Palestine 0–2 Bahrain
Report
Attendance: 4,140
Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan)

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iraq 3 2 1 0 7 0 +7 7 Final tournament
2  Iran (H) 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7
3  Turkmenistan 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1
4  Yemen 3 0 1 2 0 8 −8 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Iraq 5–0 Yemen
 Report
Attendance: 102
Iran 3–1 Turkmenistan
 Report
  • Gürgenow 75'
Attendance: 1,732
Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)
Turkmenistan 0–2 Iraq
Report
  • Subeh 17'
  • S. Jabbar 88'
Attendance: 157
Yemen 0–3 Iran
Report
Attendance: 2,931
Turkmenistan 0–0 Yemen
Report
Attendance: 10
Iraq 0–0 Iran
Report
Attendance: 2,520

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  United Arab Emirates 3 2 1 0 10 2 +8 7 Final tournament
2  Saudi Arabia (H) 3 2 1 0 9 1 +8 7
3  Lebanon 3 1 0 2 7 8 −1 3
4  Maldives 3 0 0 3 0 15 −15 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
United Arab Emirates 6–1 Lebanon
 Report
  • Eid 16'
Attendance: 200
Referee: Ali Shaban (Kuwait)
Saudi Arabia 6–0 Maldives
 Report
Attendance: 122
Referee: Takuto Okabe (Japan)
Maldives 0–3 United Arab Emirates
Report
Attendance: 28
Referee: Zhang Lei (China)
Lebanon 0–2 Saudi Arabia
Report
Attendance: 262
Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)
Lebanon 6–0 Maldives
 Report
Attendance: 130
Referee: Zhang Lei (China)
Saudi Arabia 1–1 United Arab Emirates
 Report
Attendance: 300
Referee: Takuto Okabe (Japan)

Group E

  • All matches were held in Kuwait.
  • Times listed are UTC+3.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Jordan 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7 Final tournament
2  Syria 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7
3  Kuwait (H) 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 3
4  Kyrgyzstan 3 0 0 3 2 8 −6 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Syria 2–0 Kyrgyzstan
  • Barakat 39'
  • Dali 90+4'
 Report
Attendance: 150
Referee: Mohanad Qassim (Iraq)
Jordan 2–1 Kuwait
  • Al-Barri 34'
  • Atieh 51'
 Report
  • F. Al-Otaibi 21'
Attendance: 1,100
Referee: Fu Ming (China)
Kyrgyzstan 0–3 Jordan
Report
Attendance: 147
Kuwait 0–2 Syria
Report
  • Koaeh 10'
  • Barakat 23'
Attendance: 300
Jordan 1–1 Syria
  • Atieh 76'
 Report
  • Barakat 84'
Attendance: 350
Referee: Fu Ming (China)
Kyrgyzstan 2–3 Kuwait
 Report
  • Al-Hadiyah 4'
  • Al-Ajmi 11'
  • Abdulrahman 57'
Attendance: 220
Referee: Mohanad Qassim (Iraq)

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Uzbekistan (H) 2 1 1 0 3 0 +3 4 Final tournament
2  Tajikistan 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4
3  India 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 0
4  Pakistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew[7]
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
India 0–3 Uzbekistan
Report
Attendance: 2,452
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Tajikistan 2–0 India
 Report
Attendance: 282
Referee: Ho Wai Sing (Hong Kong)
Uzbekistan 0–0 Tajikistan
Report
Attendance: 4,287
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  North Korea 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Final tournament
2  Singapore 3 1 2 0 5 3 +2 5
3  Hong Kong 3 1 1 1 2 3 −1 4
4  Mongolia (H) 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Hong Kong 1–1 Singapore
 Report
Attendance: 100
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)
North Korea 1–0 Mongolia
  • Jong Kum-song 37'
 Report
Attendance: 636
Referee: Omar Mohamed Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)
Singapore 1–1 North Korea
 Report
  • Pak Kwang-hun 7'
Attendance: 98
Referee: Ali Reda (Lebanon)
Mongolia 0–1 Hong Kong
Report
Attendance: 1,028
North Korea 2–0 Hong Kong
  • Ri Kum-hyok 41'
  • Jon Hyok 53' (pen.)
 Report
Attendance: 55
Singapore 3–1 Mongolia
 Report
Attendance: 420
Referee: Ali Reda (Lebanon)

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 3 2 1 0 16 3 +13 7 Final tournament
2  Australia 3 2 1 0 14 2 +12 7
3  Cambodia (H) 3 0 1 2 2 13 −11 1
4  Chinese Taipei 3 0 1 2 1 15 −14 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
South Korea 8–0 Chinese Taipei
 Report
Attendance: 1,113
Referee: Sultan Al-Marzooqi (United Arab Emirates)
Australia 6–0 Cambodia
 Report
Attendance: 3,118
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)
Chinese Taipei 0–6 Australia
Report
Attendance: 424
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)
Cambodia 1–6 South Korea
 Report
Attendance: 1,328
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
South Korea 2–2 Australia
 Report
Attendance: 455
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)
Cambodia 1–1 Chinese Taipei
 Report
Attendance: 1,662
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)

Group I

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Japan 3 3 0 0 21 0 +21 9 Final tournament
2  Myanmar (H) 3 2 0 1 11 7 +4 6
3  Timor-Leste 3 1 0 2 5 16 −11 3
4  Macau 3 0 0 3 3 17 −14 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Japan 8–0 Macau
 Report
Attendance: 303
Referee: Mooud Bonyadifar (Iran)
Myanmar 7–0 Timor-Leste
 Report
Attendance: 4,220
Referee: Ahmad Yacoub Ibrahim (Jordan)
Timor-Leste 0–6 Japan
Report
Attendance: 753
Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)
Macau 0–4 Myanmar
Report
Attendance: 5,200
Timor-Leste 5–3 Macau
 Report
  • Jeronimo 63' (pen.)
  • Leung Chi Seng 66'
  • Leong Hou In 85'
Attendance: 1,528
Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)
Japan 7–0 Myanmar
 Report
Attendance: 9,875
Referee: Mooud Bonyadifar (Iran)

Group J

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  China 3 2 1 0 15 2 +13 7 Final tournament
2  Malaysia (H) 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7
3  Laos 3 1 0 2 3 8 −5 3
4  Philippines 3 0 0 3 2 14 −12 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
China 5–0 Laos
 Report
Attendance: 128
Referee: Yaqoub Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
Malaysia 3–0 Philippines
 Report
Attendance: 7,606
Philippines 0–8 China
Report
Attendance: 394
Referee: Yaqoub Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
Laos 0–1 Malaysia
Report
Attendance: 9,705
Referee: Masoud Tufayelieh (Syria)
Laos 3–2 Philippines
 Report
Attendance: 275
Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)
Malaysia 2–2 China
 Report
Attendance: 26,183

Group K

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Vietnam (H) 3 3 0 0 11 0 +11 9 Final tournament
2  Thailand[a] 3 2 0 1 12 4 +8 6
3  Indonesia 3 1 0 2 2 6 −4 3
4  Brunei 3 0 0 3 1 16 −15 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ Thailand, as final tournament hosts, automatically qualified regardless of qualification results.
Thailand 4–0 Indonesia
 Report
Attendance: 1,053
Referee: Sherzod Kasimov (Uzbekistan)
Brunei 0–8 Thailand
Report
Attendance: 1,178
Referee: Bijan Heidari (Iran)
Indonesia 0–1 Vietnam
Report
Attendance: 25,591
Referee: Saoud Al-Athbah (Qatar)
Indonesia 2–1 Brunei
 Report
Attendance: 825
Referee: Bijan Heidari (Iran)
Vietnam 4–0 Thailand
 Report
Attendance: 38,278
Referee: Sherzod Kasimov (Uzbekistan)

Ranking of second-placed teams

Due to groups having different number of teams (after the withdrawal of Pakistan from Group F), the results against the fourth-placed teams in four-team groups were not considered for this ranking.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 H  Australia 2 1 1 0 8 2 +6 4 Final tournament
2 C  Iran 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4[a]
2 E  Syria 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4[a]
4 D  Saudi Arabia 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4[a]
5 F  Tajikistan 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4
6 A  Oman 2 1 1 0 4 3 +1 4
7 J  Malaysia 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
8 I  Myanmar 2 1 0 1 7 7 0 3
9 K  Thailand[b] 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3 Final tournament
10 B  Palestine 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1 3
11 G  Singapore 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) disciplinary points; 5) drawing of lots.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Disciplinary points: Iran –2, Syria –2, Saudi Arabia –3.
  2. ^ Thailand, as final tournament hosts, automatically qualified regardless of qualification results.

Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in AFC U-23 Championship1
 Thailand Hosts 30 August 2018[2] 2 (2016, 2018)
 Qatar Group A winners 26 March 2019 2 (2016, 2018)
 Bahrain Group B winners 26 March 2019 0 (debut)
 Iraq Group C winners 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
 United Arab Emirates Group D winners 26 March 2019 2 (2013, 2016)
 Jordan Group E winners 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
 Uzbekistan Group F winners 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
 North Korea Group G winners 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
 South Korea Group H winners 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
 Japan Group I winners 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
 China Group J winners 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
 Vietnam Group K winners 26 March 2019 2 (2016, 2018)
 Australia 1st best runners-up 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
 Iran 2nd best runners-up 26 March 2019 2 (2013, 2016)
 Syria 3rd best runners-up 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
 Saudi Arabia 4th best runners-up 26 March 2019 3 (2013, 2016, 2018)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

There were 240 goals scored in 63 matches, for an average of 3.81 goals per match.

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

References

  1. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2019". 28 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "FA Thailand proposed as 2020 AFC U-23 Championship host". AFC. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Teams to learn opponents for 2020 Qualifiers". AFC. 6 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Journey to Thailand 2020 begins". AFC. 7 November 2018.
  5. ^ "AFC U23 Championship 2020 Qualifiers Draw". YouTube. 7 November 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Competition Regulations AFC U-23 Championship 2020". AFC.
  7. ^ "Pakistan withdraw from AFC U23 Championship 2020 qualifiers as tensions with India continue". Fox Sports Asia. 8 March 2019. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.