Football Asian Cup 2015

Football Asian Cup 2015
AFC Asian Cup 2015
Number of nations	16  (of 47 applicants)
Asian champion	Australia (1st title)
venue	Australia
Opening game	January 9, 2015
Endgame	January 31, 2015
Games	32
Gates	85  (⌀: 2.66 per game)
spectator	649,705  (⌀: 20,303 per game)
Top scorer	Ali Mabkhout (5 goals)
Best player	Massimo Luongo
yellow cards	115  (⌀: 3.59 per game)
Yellow-red cards	3  (⌀: 0.09 per game)
Red cards	2  (⌀: 0.06 per game)

The 16th Asian Football Championship was held in Australia from January 9th to 31st, 2015 . The official name of the event was AFC Asian Cup 2015 . 16 national teams competed against each other first in the group stage in four groups and then in the knockout system . It was the first men's Asian soccer championship that was not played on Asian soil.

The hosts won the tournament with a 2-1 win after extra time against South Korea in the final . He will thus represent the Asian association at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. Defending champion and record winner Japan were eliminated on penalties in the quarter-finals against the later third-placed, the United Arab Emirates .

The Australian Massimo Luongo was chosen as the best player of the tournament ; The top scorer was Ali Mabkhout from the United Arab Emirates, who scored five goals.

host

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced the host for the tournament on January 5, 2011 in Doha as part of the 2011 Asian Football Championship . Australia hosted an Asian men's soccer championship for the first time. Previously, Australia had hosted the 2006 Asian Women's Cup and the men's Oceania Championships in 1998 and 2004 .

Venues

The venues were announced on March 27, 2013, according to which the tournament was held in the five cities of Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane , Canberra and Newcastle .

The Australia Stadium , which was built on the occasion of the 2000 Summer Olympics and opened on March 6, 1999, is the largest stadium in the finals with a capacity of 84,000 people. A total of four preliminary round games, a quarter-final, a semi-final and the final were played here.

The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is a venue with up to 30,050 seats and was the venue for five other preliminary round games, including the opening game. A quarter-final game also took place in this stadium.

The Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane has a spectator capacity of 52,500 and was therefore the second largest venue for the Asian Cup after Sydney. Seven preliminary round games and one quarter-final game were played here.

Another six preliminary round games took place in Canberra, the Canberra Stadium offers 25,011 spectators and was thus the smallest of the five stadiums.

The Newcastle Stadium in Newcastle has 33,000 spectators and was the venue for two preliminary round matches, a semi-final and the match for third place.

Brisbane	Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Newcastle Sydney Venues for the 2015 Asian Football Championship	Canberra
Brisbane Stadium		Canberra Stadium
Capacity: 52,500		Capacity: 25,011
Melbourne	Newcastle	Sydney
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium	Newcastle Stadium	Stadium Australia
Capacity: 30,050	Capacity: 33,000	Capacity: 84,000

Attendees

Qualification phase

→ Main article : Qualifying for the 2015 Asian Cup

In addition to hosts Australia, the best three teams from the 2011 Asian Cup were also directly qualified for the finals; as Australia finished second, only two other teams qualified this way. Eleven participants were determined via the regular qualification, the other two places went to the winners of the AFC Challenge Cups in 2012 and 2014 .

The 20 registered teams were placed according to their results in the qualification for the 2011 Asian Cup and its final round. When the qualifying groups were drawn on October 9, 2012 in Melbourne, they were divided into five groups of four teams each. They competed against each other in home and away games between February 6, 2013 and March 5, 2014. The two best in the group qualified for the finals, and the best group came third.

Final round draw

The draw for the final round took place on March 26, 2014 at the Sydney Opera House . The teams were divided into four different pots according to their positions in the FIFA world rankings of March 2014 and drawn into four different groups of four teams each. Host Australia was already set as the group head of group A. The winner of the AFC Challenge Cup 2014 had not yet been determined, Palestine won it 1-0 against the Philippines in May 2014 and qualified as the 16th and last team for the Asian Cup.

• Lottery pot 1 : Australia, Iran, Japan, Uzbekistan
• Lottery pot 2 : South Korea, Ver. Arab. Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
• Lottery pot 3 : Oman, China, Qatar, Iraq
• Lottery pot 4 : Bahrain, Kuwait, North Korea, Palestine

The draw resulted in the following group allocation:

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Australia	Uzbekistan	Iran	Japan
South Korea	Saudi Arabia	Ver. Arab. Emirates	Jordan
Oman	China	Qatar	Iraq
Kuwait	North Korea	Bahrain	Palestine

Decision criteria for the group stage

The winner of a game received three points; in the event of a tie, each team received one point. The table placement was primarily based on the higher number of points. In the event of a tie between two or more teams, the following criteria decided on the placement in this order:

1. Higher number of points in direct comparison .
2. Better goal difference in direct comparison.
3. Higher number of goals scored in direct comparison.
4. Better goal difference from all group matches.
5. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches.
6. Penalty shoot-out between the teams concerned if they meet in the last game.
7. Better fair play behavior during the finals.
8. Drawing of lots.

Group stage

Group A

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	South Korea	3	3	0	0	003-000	+3	09
2.	Australia	3	2	0	1	008: 200	+6	06th
3.	Oman	3	1	0	2	001: 500	−4	03
4th	Kuwait	3	0	0	3	001: 600	−5	00

Fri. January 9, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Melbourne
Australia	-	Kuwait	4: 1 (2: 1)
Sat, Jan 10, 2015, 4:00 p.m. (6:00 a.m. CET) in Canberra
South Korea	-	Oman	1: 0 (1: 0)
Tuesday, January 13, 2015, 6:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. CET) in Canberra
Kuwait	-	South Korea	0: 1 (0: 1)
Tuesday, January 13, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Sydney
Oman	-	Australia	0: 4 (0: 3)
Sat, Jan 17, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Brisbane
Australia	-	South Korea	0: 1 (0: 1)
Sat January 17, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Newcastle
Oman	-	Kuwait	1: 0 (0: 0)

Group B

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	China	3	3	0	0	005: 200	+3	09
2.	Uzbekistan	3	2	0	1	005: 300	+2	06th
3.	Saudi Arabia	3	1	0	2	005: 500	± 0	03
4th	North Korea	3	0	0	3	002: 700	−5	00

Sat, January 10, 2015, 6:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. CET) in Sydney
Uzbekistan	-	North Korea	1: 0 (0: 0)
Sat, Jan 10, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Brisbane
Saudi Arabia	-	China	0: 1 (0: 0)
Wed., January 14, 2015, 6:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. CET) in Melbourne
North Korea	-	Saudi Arabia	1: 4 (1: 1)
Wed, Jan 14, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Brisbane
China	-	Uzbekistan	2: 1 (0: 1)
Sun., January 18, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Melbourne
Uzbekistan	-	Saudi Arabia	3: 1 (1: 0)
Sun, January 18, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Canberra
China	-	North Korea	2: 1 (2: 0)

Group C

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Iran	3	3	0	0	004-000	+4	09
2.	Ver. Arab. Emirates	3	2	0	1	006: 300	+3	06th
3.	Bahrain	3	1	0	2	003: 500	−2	03
4th	Qatar	3	0	0	3	002: 700	−5	00

Sun, January 11, 2015, 6:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. CET) in Canberra
Ver. Arab. Emirates	-	Qatar	4: 1 (1: 1)
Sun., January 11, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Melbourne
Iran	-	Bahrain	2: 0 (1: 0)
Thursday, January 15, 2015, 6:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. CET) in Canberra
Bahrain	-	Ver. Arab. Emirates	1: 2 (1: 1)
Thursday, January 15, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Sydney
Qatar	-	Iran	0: 1 (0: 0)
Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Brisbane
Iran	-	Ver. Arab. Emirates	1: 0 (0: 0)
Mon, January 19, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Sydney
Qatar	-	Bahrain	1: 2 (0: 1)

Group D

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Japan	3	3	0	0	007-000	+7	09
2.	Iraq	3	2	0	1	003: 100	+2	06th
3.	Jordan	3	1	0	2	005: 400	+1	03
4th	Palestine	3	0	0	3	001:110	−10	00

Monday, January 12, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. CET) in Newcastle
Japan	-	Palestine	4: 0 (3: 0)
Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Brisbane
Jordan	-	Iraq	0: 1 (0: 0)
Friday, January 16, 2015, 6:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. CET) in Melbourne
Palestine	-	Jordan	1: 5 (0: 3)
Friday, January 16, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Brisbane
Iraq	-	Japan	0: 1 (0: 1)
Tuesday, January 20, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Canberra
Iraq	-	Palestine	2: 0 (0: 0)
Tuesday, January 20, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Melbourne
Japan	-	Jordan	2: 0 (1: 0)

Final round

In the quarter and semi-finals, in the game for third place and in the final, the knockout system was used . If the games in the final round were tied after the regular playing time of 90 minutes, there was an extension of 15 minutes twice and possibly (if there was still no winner) a penalty shoot-out .

game schedule

	Quarter finals				Semifinals				final
	South Korea	02 1
	Uzbekistan	0
					South Korea	2
					Iraq	0
	Iran	3 (6)
	Iraq	03 (7) 2
									South Korea	1
									Australia	02 1
	China	0
	Australia	2
					Australia	2			Game for third place
					Ver. Arab. Emirates	0
	Japan	1 (4)							Iraq	2
	Ver. Arab. Emirates	01 (5) 2							Ver. Arab. Emirates	3

¹ win after extra time
² win on penalties

Quarter finals

Thursday, January 22, 2015, 6:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. CET) in Melbourne
South Korea	-	Uzbekistan	2: 0 a.d.
Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 8:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. CET) in Brisbane
China	-	Australia	0: 2 (0: 0)
Friday, January 23, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m. CET) in Canberra
Iran	-	Iraq	3: 3 a.d. (1: 1, 1: 0), 6: 7 in E.
Friday, January 23, 2015, 8:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. CET) in Sydney
Japan	-	Ver. Arab. Emirates	1: 1 n.V. (1: 1, 0: 1), 4: 5 in E.

Semifinals

Mon., January 26, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Sydney
South Korea	-	Iraq	2: 0 (1: 0)
Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Newcastle
Australia	-	Ver. Arab. Emirates	2: 0 (2: 0)

3rd place match

Fri. January 30, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Newcastle
Iraq	-	Ver. Arab. Emirates	2: 3 (2: 1)

final

Sat January 31, 2015, 8:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. CET) in Sydney
South Korea	-	Australia	1: 2 a.d. (1: 1, 0: 1)

Best goal scorers

rank	player	Gates
1	Ali Mabkhout	5
2	Hamza Al-Dardour	4th
	Ahmed Khalil	4th
4th	Tim Cahill	3
	Sun Ke	3
	Keisuke Honda	3
	Mohammad Al-Sahlawi	3
	Son Heung-min	3

There are also 8 players with two and 39 players with one goal each and two own goals.

referee

Abdulrahman Mohammed Abdou  Abdullah al-Hilali  Fahad Al-Mirdasi  Chris Beath  Ravshan Ermatov  Alireza Faghani

Kim Jong-hyeok  Mohammed Abdullah Hassan Mohammed  Peter O'Leary  Nawaf Shukralla  Ryūji Satō  Ben Williams

Web links

• Official website of the Asian Football Championships
• Official channel on Youtube

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} the-afc.com: AFC Asian Cup 2015 venues and schedule unveiled ( Memento from March 31, 2013 on WebCite )
2. ↑ Football Federation Australia: Venues and Match Schedule (PDF; 3.1 MB)
3. ↑ the-afc.com: Top three of Doha to get automatic bye for 2015 ( Memento from March 9, 2014 on WebCite ), thepeninsulaqatar.com from January 25, 2011 (accessed on March 9, 2014).
4. ↑ AFC Asian Cup draw set for March 26 at Sydney Opera House ( Memento December 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on December 6, 2013. Retrieved on December 8, 2013.
5. ↑ Asian Cup 2015 draw mechanism revealed ( memento from March 22, 2014 on WebCite ), the-afc.com from March 17, 2014 (accessed on March 22, 2014).
6. ↑ COMPETITION REGULATIONS AFC ASIAN CUP AUSTRALIA 2015, here ARTICLE 3, point 20.1. (PDF) AFC, 2015, p. 57 , accessed on January 15, 2015 (784 kB).