AFC Solidarity Cup 2016

AFC Solidarity Cup 2016
Number of nations	7th
winner	Nepal (1st title)
venue	Malaysia
Opening game	November 2, 2016
Endgame	15th November 2016
Games	13
Gates	37  (⌀: 2.85 per game)
spectator	2,384  (⌀: 183 per game)
Top scorer	Xaisongkham Champathong Shahrazen Said Niki Torrão (four goals each)
Best player	Leong Ka Hang
yellow cards	37  (⌀: 2.85 per game)
Yellow-red cards	0
Red cards	2  (⌀: 0.15 per game)

The AFC Solidarity Cup 2016 was the first edition of the tournament and took place from November 2nd to 15th, 2016 in Kuching ( Malaysia ). The competition is the successor to the AFC Challenge Cup , which was last held in the Maldives in May 2014 .

The six teams that were eliminated in the first round of the 2018 World Cup qualification and the three losers in the second play-off round of the 2019 AM qualification were eligible to participate . However, due to two withdrawals, only seven teams participated.

Nepal won the tournament by beating Macau 1-0 in the final . As a result of Guam's withdrawal and Kuwait's disqualification for the third round of the 2019 AM qualification, the AFC determined Nepal and Macau as the two successors in January 2017. In the game for third place, Laos beat Brunei 3-2 .

Venue and mode

Malaysia was chosen as the host at the draw in September 2016 . Two modes were presented at the draw, depending on the number of teams participating in the competition. In both modes, the group opponents should play against each other once. The difference between the two modes was how the tournament should continue to be played.

With eight teams, the two group winners and the runners-up should qualify for the semi-finals, with nine teams the two group winners should determine the winner directly in the final. In both cases there should be no match for third place.

Following the withdrawal of Pakistan and Bangladesh , the mode was finally set. A semi-final has now been played, as has a game for third place.

draw

The draw took place on September 8, 2016 in Kuala Lumpur . At the time of the draw, the final number of participants and the identity of at least two teams had not yet been determined. At the time, these were still playing in the play-off round of the 2019 AM qualification , the losers from it should qualify for the Solidarity Cup. Bhutan showed no interest in participating before the draw. The following groups were drawn:

Group A	Group B
Nepal	Sri Lanka
Pakistan 1	Macau
Brunei	Mongolia
East Timor	Laos
Bangladesh 1

¹ Both teams withdrew from the competition.

Group stage

All times are in local time ( UTC + 8 ).

Group A

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Nepal	2	1	1	0	003-000	+3	04th
2.	Brunei	2	1	0	1	004: 300	+1	03
3.	East Timor	2	0	1	1	000: 400	−4	01

November 2, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Brunei	-	East Timor	4: 0 (0: 0)
November 5, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
East Timor	-	Nepal	0-0
November 8, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Nepal	-	Brunei	3: 0 (1: 0)

Group B

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Macau	3	2	1	0	007: 300	+4	07th
2.	Laos	3	2	0	1	006: 500	+1	06th
3.	Mongolia	3	1	0	2	003: 500	−2	03
4th	Sri Lanka	3	0	1	2	002: 500	−3	01

November 3, 2016, 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sri Lanka	-	Laos	1: 2 (0: 0)
Macau	-	Mongolia	2: 1 (1: 1)
November 6, 2016, 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Laos	-	Macau	1: 4 (1: 1)
Mongolia	-	Sri Lanka	2: 0 (0: 0)
November 9, 2016, both 7:30 p.m.
Sri Lanka	-	Macau	1: 1 (1: 0)
Mongolia	-	Laos	0: 3 (0: 2)

Final round

All times are in local time ( UTC + 8 ).

Semifinals

November 12, 2016, 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Nepal	-	Laos	2: 2 n.d. (1: 1, 0: 1); 3: 0 i. E.
Macau	-	Brunei	1: 1 n.d. (1: 1, 0: 1); 4: 3 i. E.

3rd place match

November 14, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Laos	-	Brunei	3: 2 (1: 1)

final

November 15, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Nepal	-	Macau	1: 0 (1: 0)

List of goalscorers

Below are the top scorers of the tournament. If the number of goals is the same, the players are sorted alphabetically.

space	player	Gates
01	Xaisongkham Champathong	4th
	Shahrazen Said	4th
	Niki Torrão	4th
04th	Azwan Ali Rahman	2
	Leong Ka Hang	2
	Sitthideth Khanthavong	2
	Bimal Gharti Magar	2
	Naranbold Nyam-Osor	2
	Khamphanh Sonthanalay	2

In addition to the top scorers with at least two goals, there are 13 more with one goal each.

Web links

• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Teams for final round of AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers confirmed . In: The-AFC.com . January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} AFC Solidarity Cup Malaysia 2016 draw details announced . In: The-AFC.com . September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
3. ↑ ^{a b} AFC Solidarity Cup 2016 line-up finalized . In: The-AFC.com . October 16, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
4. ^ AFC Solidarity Cup 2016: List of goalscorers . In: The-AFC.com . Retrieved November 15, 2016.