Football Asian Cup 1988 / qualification

The qualification for the 1988 Asian Cup in Qatar took place between February and June 1988. 20 teams played in 4 qualification groups. The group winners and runners-up qualified for the final tournament. Hosts Qatar and defending champions Saudi Arabia were set for the finals.

Qualified teams

Defending champion:	Saudi Arabia
Host:	Qatar
Group 1:	UAE	People's Republic of China
Group 2:	Kuwait	Japan
Group 3:	Syria	Iran
Group 4:	Bahrain	South Korea

Group 1

Tournament in Abu Dhabi , UAE

rank	country	Gates	Points
1.	UAE *	12: 1	9: 1
2.	People's Republic of China *	10: 1	7: 3
3.	North Yemen	5: 5	5: 5
4th	Thailand	5:12	4: 6
5.	Bangladesh	1: 9	3: 7
6th	India	1: 6	2: 8

Feb. 4, 1988	UA Emirates	-	Thailand	3-0
Feb 5, 1988	China	-	North Yemen	0-0
Feb 6, 1988	Bangladesh	-	India	0-0
Feb. 7, 1988	UA Emirates	-	North Yemen	2: 1
Feb 8, 1988	China	-	Bangladesh	4-0
Feb 9, 1988	India	-	Thailand	0: 1
Feb 10, 1988	UA Emirates	-	China	0-0
Feb 11, 1988	North Yemen	-	India	1-0
Feb 12, 1988	Thailand	-	Bangladesh	1: 1
Feb 13, 1988	UA Emirates	-	India	3-0
Feb. 14, 1988	China	-	Thailand	5-0
Feb. 14, 1988	North Yemen	-	Bangladesh	0-0
Feb 16, 1988	China	-	India	1: 1
Feb 16, 1988	North Yemen	-	Thailand	3: 3
Feb. 17, 1988	UA Emirates	-	Bangladesh	4-0

Group 2

Tournament in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia

rank	country	Gates	Points
1.	Kuwait *	9-0	7: 1
2.	Japan *	6: 3	5: 3
3.	Jordan	2: 1	5: 3
4th	Malaysia	4: 6	3: 5
5.	Pakistan	1:12	0: 8

April 7, 1988	Malaysia	-	Pakistan	4-0
April 8, 1988	Kuwait	-	Japan	1-0
April 10, 1988	Jordan	-	Pakistan	1-0
April 11, 1988	Malaysia	-	Japan	0: 1
April 12, 1988	Kuwait	-	Jordan	0-0
April 14, 1988	Malaysia	-	Jordan	0-0
April 15, 1988	Kuwait	-	Pakistan	3-0
April 16, 1988	Japan	-	Jordan	1: 1
April 18, 1988	Malaysia	-	Kuwait	0: 5
April 18, 1988	Japan	-	Pakistan	4: 1

Group 3

Tournament in Kathmandu , Nepal

rank	country	Gates	Points
1.	Syria *	8: 2	7: 1
2.	Iran *	6: 1	6: 2
3.	North Korea	3: 2	5: 3
4th	Hong Kong	0: 5	1: 7
5.	Nepal	0: 7	1: 7

May 25, 1988	Nepal	-	Hong Kong	0-0
May 26, 1988	Syria	-	North Korea	2: 1
May 27, 1988	Iran	-	Hong Kong	2-0
May 27, 1988	Nepal	-	North Korea	0: 1
May 29, 1988	Syria	-	Iran	1: 1
May 31, 1988	North Korea	-	Hong Kong	1-0
June 1, 1988	Nepal	-	Syria	0: 3
June 2nd, 1988	Iran	-	North Korea	0-0
3rd June 1988	Syria	-	Hong Kong	2-0
4th June 1988	Nepal	-	Iran	0: 3

Group 4

Tournament in Jakarta , Indonesia

rank	country	Gates	Points
1.	Bahrain *	4-0	5: 1
2.	South Korea *	5: 3	3: 3
3.	Indonesia	1: 4	3: 3
4th	South Yemen	1: 4	1: 5

17th June 1988	Indonesia	-	South Yemen	1-0
17th June 1988	Bahrain	-	South Korea	2-0
June 19, 1988	South Korea	-	South Yemen	1: 1
June 19, 1988	Indonesia	-	Bahrain	0-0
June 22, 1988	Bahrain	-	South Yemen	2-0
June 22, 1988	Indonesia	-	South Korea	0: 4