2019 AFC Asian Cup

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 February 2019.^[4]

2019 AFC Asian Cup
كأس آسيا 2019

Tournament details
Host country	United Arab Emirates
Dates	5 January – 1 February
Teams	24 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	8 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Qatar (1st title)
Runners-up	Japan
Tournament statistics
Matches played	51
Goals scored	130 (2.55 per match)
Attendance	644,307 (12,633 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Almoez Ali (9 goals)^[1]
Best player(s)	Almoez Ali^[1]
Best goalkeeper	Saad Al-Sheeb^[2]
Fair play award	Japan^[3]
← 2015 2023 →

For the first time, 24 teams competed for the title, replacing the 16-team format that was used from 2004 to 2015. Under this new format, the finalists would contest a group stage consisting of six groups of four teams, followed by a knockout stage of 16 teams. The host nation qualified for the final tournament automatically, while the remaining 23 places were determined among the other 45 national teams of the AFC through a qualifying competition running from 2015 to 2018, part of which also served as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process for the confederation.

The tournament was won for the first time by Qatar, who defeated Japan 3–1 in the final. This was also Qatar's first ever top 4 finish in the competition. The defending champions (Australia), were eliminated by the hosts (UAE) at the quarter-finals, who subsequently lost to the eventual champions in the semi-finals.

Host selection edit

The bidding procedure and timeline for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup was approved at the AFC congress on 28 November 2012.^[5] The winning bid was originally set to be announced at an AFC congress in June, then November 2014.^[6] However, at its 60th Anniversary celebrations at the end of 2014, AFC gave the date of 'summer 2015' to when an announcement would be made.^[7]

In January 2015, AFC general secretary Alex Soosay said that Iran and the United Arab Emirates were the only two remaining bidders for the 2019 Asian Cup, and that the eventual hosts would be announced in March 2015.^[8]

On 9 March 2015, during an AFC Executive Committee meeting in Manama, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates was announced as the host.^[9] This was the second time the country hosted the tournament, after the 1996 edition.

Teams edit

Qualified for Asian Cup

Failed to qualify

Disqualified or withdrew

Not an AFC member

Qualification edit

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification process determined the 24 participating teams for the tournament. In 2014, a proposal to merge the preliminary qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup with those of the AFC Asian Cup was ratified by the AFC Competitions Committee.^[10] The new qualification structure took place in three stages, with the first two merging with the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification^[10]^[11] In the first round, the lowest ranked teams played home-and-away over two legs to reduce the total number of teams to 40. In the second round, the 40 teams were divided into eight groups of five to play home-and-away round-robin matches, where the eight group winners and the four best group runners-up qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals. In the third round, the next best 24 teams eliminated from second round were divided into six groups of four and competed for the remaining slots of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.^[12] The first qualifying round of the qualification took place on 12 March 2015, and the final match of the third round took place on 27 March 2018.^[13]^[14]

Qualified teams edit

India, Syria, Thailand, and Turkmenistan qualified for the tournament after being absent in several Asian Cup tournaments spanning from 2004 to 2015. Lebanon and Vietnam both qualified for the first time after hosting the tournaments, in 2000 and 2007 respectively.^[15] For Vietnam, this was the first time they qualified for the AFC Asian Cup as a unified nation, having participated as South Vietnam in the first two editions (1956 and 1960), outside of hosting the 2007 edition. This was also the first time Yemen qualified for the AFC Asian Cup as a unified country, due to FIFA and AFC categorizing the participation of South Yemen in the 1976 as a distinct record not related to Yemen, who succeeded North Yemen. In addition to Yemen, Kyrgyzstan^[16] and the Philippines^[17] also marked this edition as their first times to qualify for an Asian Cup.

Iran qualified for the Asian Cup for the first time as a CAFA member, having qualified as part of the WAFF before. Afghanistan, along with its fellow CAFA member nation Tajikistan, were the only two countries from the Central Asian zone which failed to qualify for the tournament. Indonesia and Malaysia were the only co-hosts of the 2007 edition that did not qualify for the Asian Cup, as Indonesia was barred from entering the qualification due to tension inside the PSSI which led to FIFA suspension; while Malaysia had ended their campaign in disaster with just one point out of six matches. Kuwait was the only West Asian team not to qualify for the Asian Cup, as they were also barred from completing the qualification due to FIFA's sanction. India remained as the only South Asian team to qualify for the tournament. On 13 November 2018, the Asian Football Confederation warned the Iranian government to stop meddling in the country's football association, otherwise, it would have faced sanctions before the Asian Cup.^[18]

The following 24 teams qualified for the final tournament:

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance	December 2018 FIFA ranking
United Arab Emirates	Hosts	9 March 2015	10th	2015	Runners-up (1996)	79
Qatar	Second round group C winners	17 November 2015	10th	2015	Quarter-finals (2000, 2011)	93
South Korea	Second round group G winners	13 January 2016	14th	2015	Winners (1956, 1960)	53
Japan	Second round group E winners	24 March 2016	9th	2015	Winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)	50
Thailand	Second round group F winners	24 March 2016	7th	2007	Third place (1972)	118
Saudi Arabia	Second round group A winners	24 March 2016	10th	2015	Winners (1984, 1988, 1996)	69
Australia	Second round group B winners	29 March 2016	4th	2015	Winners (2015)	41
Uzbekistan	Second round group H winners	29 March 2016	7th	2015	Fourth place (2011)	95
Iran	Second round group D winners	29 March 2016	14th	2015	Winners (1968, 1972, 1976)	29
Syria	Second round group E runners-up	29 March 2016	6th	2011	Group stage (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011)	74
Iraq	Second round group F runners-up	29 March 2016	9th	2015	Winners (2007)	88
China	Second round group C runners-up	29 March 2016	12th	2015	Runners-up (1984, 2004)	76
Palestine	Third round group D runners-up	10 October 2017	2nd	2015	Group stage (2015)	99
Oman	Third round group D winners	10 October 2017	4th	2015	Group stage (2004, 2007, 2015)	82
India	Third round group A winners	11 October 2017	4th	2011	Runners-up (1964)	97
Lebanon	Third round group B winners	10 November 2017	2nd	2000	Group stage (2000)	81
Turkmenistan	Third round group E runners-up	14 November 2017	2nd	2004	Group stage (2004)	127
Jordan	Third round group C winners	14 November 2017	4th	2015	Quarter-finals (2004, 2011)	109
Bahrain	Third round group E winners	14 November 2017	6th	2015	Fourth place (2004)	113
Vietnam	Third round group C runners-up	14 November 2017	4th	2007	Fourth place (1956¹, 1960¹)	100
Kyrgyzstan	Third round group A runners-up	22 March 2018	1st	Debut	None	91
North Korea	Third round group B runners-up	27 March 2018	5th	2015	Fourth place (1980)	109
Philippines	Third round group F winners	27 March 2018	1st	Debut	None	116
Yemen	Third round group F runners-up	27 March 2018	1st²	Debut	None	135

¹ As South Vietnam

² Yemen once qualified for the 1976 AFC Asian Cup as South Yemen, but according to FIFA and the AFC, the previous records of Yemen are registered as North Yemen instead.

Draw edit

Burj Khalifa, the location of the final draw

The draw of the final tournament was held on 4 May 2018, 19:30 GST, at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.^[19]^[20] The FIFA rankings of April 2018 were used as basis for the seeding. The 12 teams that secured their place in the final tournament by the end of the second round of the qualification process were placed in Pots 1 and 2 while the remaining teams which qualified during the third round were allocated to the remaining pots. As hosts, the United Arab Emirates were seeded into Pot 1. The 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four teams, with the hosts placed in position A1.^[21] Four renowned Asian players: Ali Daei, Sun Jihai, Sunil Chhetri, and Phil Younghusband were chosen to draw the teams.^[22]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
United Arab Emirates (81) (hosts) Iran (36) Australia (40) Japan (60) South Korea (61) Saudi Arabia (70)	China (73) Syria (76) Uzbekistan (88) Iraq (88) Qatar (101) Thailand (122)	Kyrgyzstan (75) Lebanon (82) Palestine (83) Oman (87) India (97) Vietnam (103)	North Korea (112) Philippines (113) Bahrain (116) Jordan (117) Yemen (125) Turkmenistan (129)

Draw result edit

Teams were drawn consecutively into Group A to F. Teams from each pot were assigned to the positions of their groups following by number orders of group stage, for example Pot 1 team were assigned to A1, and continued.

The draw resulted in the following groups:

Group A
Pos	Team
A1	United Arab Emirates
A2	Thailand
A3	India
A4	Bahrain

Group B
Pos	Team
B1	Australia
B2	Syria
B3	Palestine
B4	Jordan

Group C
Pos	Team
C1	South Korea
C2	China
C3	Kyrgyzstan
C4	Philippines

Group D
Pos	Team
D1	Iran
D2	Iraq
D3	Vietnam
D4	Yemen

Group E
Pos	Team
E1	Saudi Arabia
E2	Qatar
E3	Lebanon
E4	North Korea

Group F
Pos	Team
F1	Japan
F2	Uzbekistan
F3	Oman
F4	Turkmenistan

Squads edit

Each team had to register a squad with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players, at least three of whom must be goalkeepers.^[23]

Match officials edit

Mexican referee César Ramos consulting the video assistant referee system in the semi-final match between Qatar and the UAE.

On 5 December 2018, the AFC announced the list of 30 referees, 30 assistant referees, two stand-by referees and two stand-by assistant referees, including one referee and two assistant referees from CONCACAF for the tournament.^[24]^[25] Video assistant referees (VAR) would be used from the quarter-finals onwards.^[26] In each match, the referee and his assistants were accompanied by two additional assistant referees stationed next to each team's goalpost.

Referees

Assistant referees

Matthew Cream
Anton Shchetinin
Mohamed Salman
Yaser Tulefat
Cao Yi
Huo Weiming
Mohammadreza Mansouri
Reza Sokhandan
Jun Mihara
Hiroshi Yamauchi
Mohammad Al-Kalaf
Ahmad Al-Roalleh
Park Sang-jun
Yoon Kwang-yeol
Sergei Grishchenko
Mohd Yusri Muhamad
Mohd Zainal Abidin
Miguel Hernández
Alberto Morín
Abu Bakar Al-Amri
Rashid Al-Ghaithi
Saud Al-Maqaleh
Taleb Al-Marri
Mohammed Al-Bakri
Ronnie Koh Min Kiat
Palitha Hemathunga
Mohamed Al-Hammadi
Hasan Al-Mahri
Abdukhamidullo Rasulov
Jakhongir Saidov

Video assistant referees

Stand-by referees

Nivon Robesh Gamini
Hanna Hattab

Stand-by assistant referees

Ali Ubaydee
Priyanga Palliya Guruge

Venues edit

After being awarded the bid, initially the UAE chose six stadiums to host the tournament. The six stadiums were Zayed Sports City Stadium and Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium and Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, and Dubai's Al Ahli Stadium and DSC Stadium. Later, two stadiums in Dubai were dropped due to financial problems and were replaced by Al Maktoum Stadium and Rashid Stadium, which were also located in Dubai.^[27]

After the 2015 Asian Cup, the AFC agreed to increase the number of teams from 16 to 24, following the UEFA Euro 2016. Hence, more stadiums were about to be chosen and rebuilt, in which Sharjah and Abu Dhabi won the rights to have more stadiums for the tournament. Sharjah Stadium and Al Nahyan Stadium were chosen aftermath, finalized the number of stadium to eight.

The eight venues used are Zayed Sports City Stadium, Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, and Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium and Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, Al Maktoum Stadium and Rashid Stadium in Dubai, and Sharjah Stadium in Sharjah.^[28]

Abu Dhabi
Zayed Sports City Stadium	Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium	Al Nahyan Stadium
Capacity: 43,206^[29] (expanded)	Capacity: 37,500^[29]	Capacity: 12,201 (expanded)

Dubai	Abu Dhabi Sharjah Dubai Al Ain
Rashid Stadium
Capacity: 12,000^[29] (expanded)

Dubai
Al Maktoum Stadium
Capacity: 15,058 (renovated)

Al Ain		Sharjah
Hazza bin Zayed Stadium	Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium	Sharjah Stadium
Capacity: 25,053^[29]	Capacity: 12,000^[29]	Capacity: 12,000^[29]

Format edit

The tournament was expanded to 24 teams from the previous format of 16 teams, which had been used since 2004.^[30] Only the hosts will receive an automatic qualification spot, while the other 23 teams will qualify through a qualification tournament. At the finals, the 24 teams will be drawn into six groups of four teams each. The teams in each group play a single round robin. After the group stage, the top two teams and the four best third teams will advance to the knockout stage, beginning with the round of 16. For the first time since a knockout stage was added to the competition in 1972, there will be no third place play-off.^[23]

Schedule edit

The AFC announced the official match schedule on 7 May 2018.^[31]^[32] Zayed Sports City Stadium, one of three stadiums in Abu Dhabi, staged both the opening match and the final. At least five matches were allocated to each venue, with every ground hosting at least one match in the knockout stage. The semi-finals were played on different days in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. No city hosted two matches on the same day – except in the final round of group stage matches when simultaneous kick-off is required.

Group stage edit

The top two teams of each group and the four best third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16.

All times are local, GST (UTC+4).^[33]

Tiebreakers edit

Teams were 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 were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:^[23]

Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
Goal difference in all group matches;
Goals scored in all group matches;
Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
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);
Drawing of lots.

Group A edit

India's Udanta Singh with Thailand's Theerathon Bunmathan and Chatchai Budprom

Group A saw the opening match of the tournament which was a one-all draw between United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with Ahmed Khalil getting the equaliser in the 88th minute after going one goal down only ten minutes prior.^[34] UAE and Thailand qualified as the top two nations in the group after a 1–1 draw at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, and Bahrain qualified in third place after a 1–0 win over India.^[35]^[36] India finished last in the group after they recorded their first win in the Asian Cup for 55 years over Thailand in their opening match, before losing their remaining two games.^[37]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United Arab Emirates (H)	3	1	2	0	4	2	+2	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Thailand	3	1	1	1	3	5	−2	4^[a]
3	Bahrain	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4^[a]
4	India	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3

Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head points: Thailand 3, Bahrain 0.

5 January 2019