AFC Challenge Cup 2010 / qualification

Also for the third edition of the AFC Challenge Cup one was qualifications held for the final round.

The Maldives , which were eliminated in the first round of the regular qualification for the Asian Cup , took part in the qualification this time.

Pre-qualification

The teams of Mongolia and Macau played in the first round to move into the group stage of qualification. Macau won the first leg on April 7th in Macau 2-0, the second leg on April 14th in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia won 3-1. Macau qualified by the away goal rule.

April 7, 2009
Macau	-	Mongolia	2-0
April 14, 2009
Mongolia	-	Macau	3: 1

Group stage

In the group stage, 16 teams competed against each other in four groups of four teams each. The group winners and the best runner-up in the group qualified for the final round. Defending champions and hosts India, Tajikistan and North Korea have already qualified for the finals.

The group stage draw on January 28, 2009 resulted in the following groups:

• Group A: Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Macau
• Group B: Turkmenistan, Philippines, Bhutan, Maldives
• Group C: Nepal, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine
• Group D: Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Chinese Taipei, Brunei

Group A

all games at Bangabandhu National Stadium , Dhaka , Bangladesh

rank	country	Games	Gates	Points
1	Myanmar	3	7: 1	9
2	Bangladesh	3	5: 2	6th
3	Cambodia	3	2: 3	3
4th	Macau	3	1: 9	0

April 26, 2009
Myanmar	-	Macau	4-0
April 26, 2009
Cambodia	-	Bangladesh	0: 1
April 28, 2009
Macau	-	Cambodia	1: 2
April 28, 2009
Bangladesh	-	Myanmar	1: 2
April 30, 2009
Myanmar	-	Cambodia	1-0
April 30, 2009
Bangladesh	-	Macau	3-0

Group B

all games at Rasmee Dhandu Stadium , Malé , Maldives

rank	country	Games	Gates	Points
1	Turkmenistan	3	15: 1	9
2	Maldives	3	9: 5	6th
3	Philippines	3	3: 8	3
4th	Bhutan	3	0:13	0

April 14, 2009
Turkmenistan	-	Maldives	3: 1
April 14, 2009
Philippines	-	Bhutan	1-0
April 16, 2009
Maldives	-	Philippines	3: 2
April 16, 2009
Bhutan	-	Turkmenistan	0: 7
April 18, 2009
Turkmenistan	-	Philippines	5-0
April 18, 2009
Bhutan	-	Maldives	0: 5

Group C

all games at Dasarath Rangasala Stadium , Kathmandu , Nepal

Afghanistan withdrew its participation on March 24, 2009.

rank	country	Games	Gates	Points
1	Kyrgyzstan	2	2: 2	2
2	Nepal	2	1: 1	2
3	Palestine	2	1: 1	2

March 26, 2009
Nepal	-	Palestine	0-0
March 28, 2009
Kyrgyzstan	-	Nepal	1: 1
March 30, 2009
Kyrgyzstan	-	Palestine	1: 1

Nepal finished second, ahead of Palestine. Because of the equality of points and goals and the draw in the direct encounter, the fair play rating was used. Nepal received one yellow card in the two games overall and Palestine three, so Nepal was placed before Palestine in the table.

Group D

all games at Sugathadasa Stadium , Colombo , Sri Lanka

rank	country	Games	Gates	Points
1	Sri Lanka	3	9: 4	7th
2	Pakistan	3	9: 3	5
3	Chinese Taipei	3	7: 3	4th
4th	Brunei	3	1:16	0

April 4, 2009
Sri Lanka	-	Brunei	5: 1
April 4, 2009
Chinese Taipei	-	Pakistan	1: 1
April 6, 2009
Brunei	-	Pakistan	0: 6
April 6, 2009
Sri Lanka	-	Chinese Taipei	2: 1
April 8, 2009
Sri Lanka	-	Pakistan	2: 2
April 8, 2009
Chinese Taipei	-	Brunei	5-0

Determination of the best runners-up in the group

Because of the withdrawal from Afghanistan in Group C, Nepal had only played two games in contrast to the other runners-up. In order to be able to compare the teams, only two games were rated in the other runners-up groups, namely the one against the first and third place in the respective group. The games against the fourth placed were not counted. This resulted in the following table:

rank	country	Games	Gates	Points
1	Bangladesh	2	2: 2	3
2	Maldives	2	4: 5	3
3	Pakistan	2	3: 3	2
4th	Nepal	2	1: 1	2