Soccer Asian Championship

This article describes the men's soccer Asian Cup . For competition in women's football, see Women's Asian Football Championship .

Soccer Asian Championship
abbreviation	Asia Cup
Association	AFC
First edition	1956
Teams	24
Game mode	Round tournament (6 groups of 4 teams each) / knockout system (from round of 16)
Title holder	Qatar (1st title)
Record winner	Japan (4 wins)
Record player	Adnan at-Talyani (19 games)
Record scorer	Ali Daei (14 goals)
Website	www.afcasiancup.com

The previous trophy until 2015

The AFC Asian Cup ( English AFC Asian Cup or Asian Nations Cup ), shortly even Asia Cup called, is a since 1956 been transmitted continental tournament for football teams to determine the Asian champions in football and after the Copa America (the first time in 1916 held) the second oldest competition of its kind. Besides the Asian Games, the most important competition on the continent is organized by the Asian Football Confederation AFC. The winners of the Asian Cup qualify for the next FIFA Confederations Cup.

In January 2014, the Asian Football Association decided to make some changes to the format. Starting with the 2019 Asian Cup, the number of participants will be increased from 16 to 24. Furthermore, the qualifications for the Asian and World Cup are to be merged.

history

After the AFC was founded on May 8, 1954, the twelve founding members decided to host an Asian football tournament. This should take place every four years and determine the Asian champion. To qualify for the first tournament in March 1956, nine teams registered, of which three teams ( Israel , South Vietnam and South Korea ) qualified for the finals alongside hosts Hong Kong . On September 1, 1956, the first game kicked off in Hong Kong . The game between Hong Kong and Israel ended in a 3-2 win for Israel, with Hong Kong's Chang Chi Kong scoring the first goal of the tournament. The winner of the first tournament was the South Korean national team, which secured the title one point ahead of Israel.

In the qualifying phase for the 1960 Asian Cup in South Korea, ten teams played for the three finals. The hosts defended their title by winning all three games.

At the third edition in 1964 , the dominance of South Korea ended when the Israeli national soccer team, which finished second in each of the previous two tournaments, won the tournament. All three group games were won in front of a home crowd, making Israel the second nation to secure the Asian title.

Four years later, the Israelis could not defend their title. They were defeated in the last group game of the Asian Football Cup in 1968 to host Iran , who won their first continental championship. In the end, Israel finished third behind Burma .

In the early 1970s, many Arab associations joined the AFC , which is why the field of participants for the 1972 Asian Cup increased from four to six teams. The competition mode, which is still valid today, was introduced: a group stage with subsequent knockout games . In Thailand, Iran secured the title again after beating South Korea 2-1 in the final.

The Iranians repeated this success in their own country in 1976 . Due to the civil war in Lebanon , the Asian Football Association moved the tournament to Iran. In the final, Iran defeated the Kuwait national team 1-0. The Iranians were the first and so far only team to achieve the title hat-trick.

For Asian Cup 1980 in Kuwait 10 teams were registered. In the semifinals, the hosts ended Iran's 12-year supremacy when their team defeated the defending champions 2-1 and then became Asian champions with a 3-0 win over South Korea's selection. Iran won the game for 3rd place against North Korea 3-0.

In 1984 , Saudi Arabia became the fifth nation to win the Asian Cup when they defeated team China 2-0 in the final. Iran lost both the semi-finals (4: 5 picks up against Saudi Arabia) and the game for third place (3: 5 picks up against Kuwait) and ended up only fourth.

The selection of Saudi Arabia defended their success at the Asian Cup in 1988 and won the final 4: 3 i. E. against South Korea. Iran reached the semi-finals for the fifth time in a row, but lost them 1-0 to the Saudis. In the game for third place, the Iranians sat 3-0 i. E. against China.

In the 1992 Asian Cup , Japan ended 28 years of supremacy among the Middle Eastern teams when their hosts beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final. Third place went to China.

The 11th Asian Football Championship took place in the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia won the Asian Cup for the third time when the team won Iran 4-3 i in the semifinals. E. defeated and the final 4-2 i. E. won against the national team of the United Arab Emirates . Iran was won by a 3-2 i. E. on the selection of Kuwait's third place in the tournament. The biggest surprises of the tournament were defending champions Japan's elimination in the quarter-finals and Iran's chase against South Korea in the quarter-finals when the team were 2-1 down at halftime and scored five goals in the second half - including four from Ali Daei - and won the game 6-2.

The Japanese team won the Asian Cup in Lebanon four years later . The Saudis finished second and South Korea third in the tournament.

The 13th Asian Football Championship took place in China. Japan won the tournament with a 3-1 victory over hosts China. Iran was eliminated in the semifinals (against China 3: 4 i. E.), but defeated the surprise team of the tournament, Bahrain, in the game for third place .

In 2007, the Asian Football Championship was held for the first time in four countries, Indonesia , Malaysia , Thailand and Vietnam . In the final in Jakarta , Indonesia , the selection of Iraq , the surprise team of the tournament, prevailed 1-0 against the three-time Asian champions Saudi Arabia. Iraq, ravaged by civil war, won the Asian Football Championship for the first time in its history, which was celebrated extensively.

First participations

Below are all national teams that have taken part in this tournament so far.

• Teams in bold became Asian champions when they first participated.
• Teams in italics were hosts when they first participated.
• Teams in brackets participated for the first time under a different name.

year	First time participant
1956	Israel	Hong Kong	South Korea	South Vietnam
1960	Taiwan
1964	India
1968	Burma	Iran
1972	Iraq	Khmer Republic	Kuwait	Thailand
1976	China	Malaysia	South Yemen
1980	Bangladesh	Qatar	North Korea	Syria	Ver. Arab. Emirates
1984	Saudi Arabia	Singapore
1988	Bahrain	Japan
1992	no first-time participants
1996	Indonesia	Uzbekistan
2000	Lebanon
2004	Jordan	Oman	Turkmenistan
2007	Australia	( Vietnam )
2011	no first-time participants
2015	Palestine
2019	( Yemen )	Kyrgyzstan	Philippines

The tournaments at a glance

year	host		final				Game for third place or semi-finalists 1
			winner	Result	Second place		third place	Result	fourth place
1956 details	Hong Kong		South Korea	(League system)	Israel		Hong Kong	(League system)	South Vietnam
1960 details	South Korea		South Korea	(League system)	Israel		Taiwan	(League system)	South Vietnam
1964 details	Israel		Israel	(League system)	India		South Korea	(League system)	Hong Kong
1968 details	Iran		Iran	(League system)	Burma		Israel	(League system)	Taiwan
1972 details	Thailand		Iran	2: 1 a.d.	South Korea		Thailand	2: 2 n.v. 5: 3 i. E.	Cambodia
1976 details	Iran		Iran	1-0	Kuwait		China	1-0	Iraq
1980 details	Kuwait		Kuwait	3-0	South Korea		Iran	3-0	North Korea
1984 details	Singapore		Saudi Arabia	2-0	China		Kuwait	1: 1 n.v. 3: 2 i. E.	Iran
1988 details	Qatar		Saudi Arabia	0: 0 n.v. 4: 3 i. E.	South Korea		Iran	0: 0 n v. 3: 0 i. E.	China
1992 details	Japan		Japan	1-0	Saudi Arabia		China	1: 1 n.v. 3: 2 i. E.	Ver. Arab. Emirates
1996 details	Ver. Arab. Emirates		Saudi Arabia	0: 0 n.v. 4: 2 i. E.	Ver. Arab. Emirates		Iran	1: 1 n.v. 3: 2 i. E.	Kuwait
2000 details	Lebanon		Japan	1-0	Saudi Arabia		South Korea	1-0	China
2004 details	China		Japan	3: 1	China		Iran	4: 2	Bahrain
2007 details	Indonesia / Malaysia Thailand / Vietnam		Iraq	1-0	Saudi Arabia		South Korea	0: 0 n.v. 6: 5 in E.	Japan
2011 details	Qatar		Japan	1: 0 a.d.	Australia		South Korea	3: 2	Uzbekistan
2015 details	Australia		Australia	2: 1 a.d.	South Korea		Ver. Arab. Emirates	3: 2	Iraq
2019 details	Ver. Arab. Emirates		Qatar	3: 1	Japan		Ver. Arab. Emirates Iran
2023 details	China

¹There has been no match for 3rd place since 2019. Among the listed semi-finalists, the first named was subject to the eventual Asian champions, the second named to the other finalist.

statistics

Ranking list

rank	country	title	Year (s)	2nd place	3rd place	4th Place		final	Semifinals
01	Japan	4th	1992, 2000, 2004, 2011	1		1		5	06th
02	Saudi Arabia	3	1984, 1988, 1996	3				6th	06th
03	Iran	3	1968, 1972, 1976		4th	1		3	09
04th	South Korea	2	1956, 1960	4th	4th			6th	10
05	Israel	1	1964	2	1			3	04th
06th	Kuwait	1	1980	1	1	1		2	04th
07th	Australia	1	2015	1				2	02
08th	Iraq	1	2007			2		1	03
09	Qatar	1	2019					1	01
10	China			2	2	2		2	06th
11	Ver. Arab. Emirates			1	1	1		1	04th
12	India			1				1	01
	Myanmar			1				1	01
14th	Chinese Taipei				1	1			02
	Hong Kong				1	1			02
16	Thailand				1				01
17th	South Vietnam					2			02
18th	Bahrain					1			01
	Cambodia					1			01
	North Korea					1			01
	Uzbekistan					1			01
Respective record

Eternal table

→ Main article : Eternal table of the Asian football championship

Participation and final round placement

country	Tournament placements																Meld. total	Participation		Disqu. / Withdrawal
	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16
	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2007	2011	2015		HE	Agony
Afghanistan	-					•	•	•					•		•	•	7th	-	6th	1
Australia 1														V	2	1	3	3	-	-
Bahrain					•	-	•	-	E.	•	-	•	4th	E.	E.	E.	12	5	4th	3
Bangladesh 2							E.	•	•	•	-	•	•	•	•	•	10	1	8th	1
Bhutan												•	•		•	•	4th	-	4th	-
Brunei					•			-				•	•		•	-	6th	-	4th	2
China						3	E.	2	4th	3	V	4th	2	E.	E.	V	11	11	-	-
Guam											•	•	•		•	•	5	-	5	-
Hong Kong	3	•	4th	5	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	16	3	13	-
India			2	•				E.	•	•	•	•	•	•	E.	•	11	3	8th	-
Indonesia		•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	E.	E.	E.	E.	•	•	14th	4th	10	-
Iraq					E.	4th		-			V	V	V	1	V	4th	9	8th	-	1
Iran		•	-	1	1	1	3	4th	3	E.	3	V	3	V	V	V	15th	13	1	1
Israel 3	2	2	1	3	-												5	4th	-	1
Japan				•		•		-	E.	1	V	1	1	4th	1	V	11	8th	2	1
North Yemen 4 Yemen								•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	8th	-	8th	-
Jordan					•			•	•		•	•	V	•	V	E.	9	3	6th	-
Cambodia	•			•	4th							•			•	•	6th	1	5	-
Kazakhstan 5											•	•					2	-	2	-
Qatar						•	E.	E.	E.	E.	•	V	E.	E.	V	E.	11	9	2	-
Kyrgyzstan											•	•	•		•	•	5	-	5	-
Kuwait					E.	2	1	3	E.	•	4th	V	E.	•	E.	E.	12	10	2	-
Laos												•	•		•	•	4th	-	4th	-
Lebanon					•	-	•	-			•	E.	•	•	•	•	10	1	7th	2
Macau							•	-		•	•	•	•		•	•	8th	-	7th	1
Malaysia	•	•	•	•	•	E.	E.	•	•	•	•	•	•	E.	•	•	16	3	13	-
Maldives											•	•	•		•	•	5	-	5	-
Mongolia												•	•		•	•	4th	-	4th	-
Burma 6 Myanmar				2				-			•	•	•		•	•	7th	1	5	1
Nepal								•	•		•	•	•		•	•	7th	-	7th	-
North Korea						••	4th		•	E.		•	•		E.	E.	8th	4th	4th	-
Northern Mariana Islands 7																•	1	-	1	-
Oman								•		•	•	•	E.	E.	•	E.	8th	3	5	-
East Timor													•		•		2	-	2	-
Pakistan	-	•	-	•		-		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	14th	-	11	3
Palestine												•	•	•	•	E.	5	1	4th	-
Philippines	•	•		•			•	•			•	•			•	•	9	-	9	-
Saudi Arabia						••		1	1	2	1	2	E.	2	E.	E.	10	9	1	-
Singapore		•		•			•	E.		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11	1	10	-
Sri Lanka					•		•	•			•	•	•	-	•	•	9	-	8th	1
South Yemen 4						E.		-	•								3	1	1	1
South Korea	1	1	3	•	2	•	2	E.	2	•	V	3	V	3	3	2	16	13	3	-
South Vietnam 8	4th	4th	•	•		•											5	2	3	-
Syria					•	-	E.	E.	E.	•	E.	•	•	•	E.	•	12	5	6th	1
Tajikistan											•	•	•		•	•	5	-	5	-
Taiwan Chinese Taipei	•	3		4th						•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10	2	8th	-
Thailand			•	•	3	••	•	•	•	E.	E.	E.	E.	E.	•	•	14th	6th	8th	-
Turkmenistan											•	•	E.		•	•	5	1	4th	-
Uzbekistan											E.	E.	V	V	4th	V	6th	6th	-	-
UA Emirates							E.	E.	E.	4th	2	•	E.	E.	E.	3	10	9	1	-
Vietnam											•	•	•	V	•	•	6th	1	5	-
Finalists	4th	4th	4th	5	6th	6th	10	10	10	8th	12	12	16	16	16	16
reported teams	10	11	9	16	16	20th	20th	31	22nd	22nd	37	44	43	29	45	46
Respective record
1 Australia became a member of the AFC in 2006 2 Bangladesh was part of Pakistan until 1971 and became a member of the AFC in 1974 3 Israel was excluded from the AFC in 1974 4th Part of Yemen since 1990 5 Kazakhstan was a member of the AFC from 1992 to 2002 6th Until 1989 7th The Northern Mariana Islands became a member of the AFC in 2009 8th Part of Vietnam since 1975

Explanation:
Final round participation
1 2 3 4 = Placement
V = Out in the quarter-finals
E = Out in the preliminary round

qualification (including AFC Challenge Cups and their qualifications)
• = not qualified / withdrawal or disqualification during qualification
•• = no participation in the final round after successful qualification

Withdrawal
- = did not start for qualification / excluded before the first game.

Not participated in an
empty field

Varia

competition	places	Stages	Messages 1	Teams	Games		/Game	spectator	Z / game		/Game		/Game		/Game
1956	1	1	10	4th	6th	27	4.50	?	?
1960	1	1	11	4th	6th	21st	3.50	?	?
1964	4th	4th	9	4th	6th	13	2.17	99,000	16,500
1968	1	1	16	5	10	32	3.20	?	?
1972	1	1	16	6th	13	38	2.92	?	?
1976	2	2	20th	6th	10	25th	2.50	?	?
1980	1	1	20th	10	24	77	3.21	?	?
1984	1	1	31	10	24	45	1.87	?	?
1988	1	2	22nd	10	24	43	1.79	?	?
1992	3	3	22nd	8th	16	31	1.94	375,000	23,438	33	2.06	1	0.06	4th	0.25
1996	3	3	37	12	26th	69	2.65	249,000	9,577	58	2.23	1	0.04	1	0.04
2000	3	3	44	12	26th	77	2.96	236,600	9,100	76	2.92	1	0.04	1	0.04
2004	4th	4th	43	16	32	96	3.00	1,023,050	31,970	132	4.13	6th	0.19	11	0.34
2007	7th	8th	29	16	32	84	2.63	724.222	22,632	144	4.50	1	0.03	4th	0.13
2011	2	5	43	16	32	90	2.81	404.567	12,643	118	3.69	6th	0.19	3	0.09
2015	5	5	47	16	32	85	2.66	649.705	20,303	115	3.59	3	0.09	2	0.06
2019	4th	8th	46	24	51	130	2.55	644.307	12,633	189	3.71	3	0.06	2	0.04
2023	10	10	46	24	51
Respective record

¹The reports submitted on time are counted regardless of whether they were withdrawn or not started before the start of the qualification; including defending champions and hosts. In 2011 and 2015, the AFC Challenge Cups were considered qualifying competitions and their participants, including qualification, are counted towards this.

→ Main article : List of top scorer in the Asian Cup

Web links

Commons : AFC Asian Cup  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• RSSSF: Asian Football Championships
• AFC Asian Cup History Book (PDF)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Revamp of AFC competitions Revamp of AFC competitions ( Memento from February 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), the-afc.com from January 25, 2014 (accessed on January 25, 2014). (black writing on a black background, visible after marking.)