Football Asian Cup 2019 / Qualification

The qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup was held on 12 March 2015 to 27 March 2018th 45 of the 47 member associations of the AFC took part. Only Indonesia (excluded from the AFC) and the Northern Mariana Islands (only an associate member of the AFC and not a FIFA member) did not participate. The final round in the United Arab Emirates was held for the first time with 24 teams instead of the 16 teams that had been common since 2004 .

The first two qualifying rounds also served as the first two rounds of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup . Therefore, the host from the United Arab Emirates also took part in the second round.

mode

Unlike the previous finals, apart from the host, no other teams were directly qualified. The qualification took place in four rounds (initially three were planned), of which the first two also represented the first two rounds of the qualification for the 2018 World Cup .

In the first round, in March 2015, the twelve teams with the lowest rankings in the FIFA rankings of 8 January 2015 competed against each other in a knockout system with a return leg. In the second round, from June 2015 to March 2016, the six winners and the remaining 34 higher-placed teams met in eight groups of five in a double round robin format . The eight group winners and the four best runners-up qualified directly for the 2019 Asian Football Championship.

The remaining runners-up, the thirds in the group and the four best fourths in the group qualified for the third round. The four worst fourths in the group and fifth in the group played in the play-off round by eight more places in the third round. In the third round, the 24 teams were divided into six groups of four, where they played in a double round robin format for the remaining twelve final round places. The group winners and runners-up qualified for the final round.

First round

→ Main article : First round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup

The draw took place on February 10, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia ). The first round of the first round took place on March 12th and the second leg on March 17th, 2015.

	total		First leg	Return leg
India	2-0	Nepal	2: 0 (0: 0)	0-0
Yemen	3: 1	Pakistan	3: 1 (1: 0)	0-0
East Timor	5: 1	Mongolia	4: 1 (2: 0)	1: 0 (1: 0)
Cambodia	4: 1	Macau	3: 0 (0: 0)	1: 1 (1: 0)
Chinese Taipei	2: 1	Brunei	0: 1 (0: 1)	2: 0 (1: 0)
Sri Lanka	1: 3	Bhutan	0: 1 (0: 0)	1: 2 (1: 1)

Second round

→ Main article : Second round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup

The draw took place on April 14, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia ). The games took place from June 11, 2015 to March 29, 2016.

Grouping

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Ver. Arab. Emirates	Australia	China	Iran
Saudi Arabia	Jordan	Qatar	Oman
Palestine	Tajikistan	Maldives	India
East Timor	Kyrgyzstan	Bhutan	Turkmenistan
Malaysia	Bangladesh	Hong Kong	Guam
Group E	Group F.	Group G	Group H.
Japan	Iraq	South Korea	Uzbekistan
Syria	Vietnam	Kuwait	Bahrain
Afghanistan	Thailand	Lebanon	Philippines
Singapore	Indonesia	Myanmar	North Korea
Cambodia	Chinese Taipei	Laos	Yemen

Group A Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points  1.  Saudi Arabia  8th  6th  2  0 028: 400 +24 20th  2.  Ver. Arab. Emirates  8th  5  2  1 025: 400 +21 17th  3.  Palestine  8th  3  3  2 022: 600 +16 12  4th  Malaysia  8th  1  1  6th 003:300 −27 04th  5.  East Timor  8th  0  2  6th 002:360 −34 02

Group B Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points  1.  Australia  8th  7th  0  1 029: 400 +25 21st  2.  Jordan  8th  5  1  2 021: 700 +14 16  3.  Kyrgyzstan  8th  4th  2  2 010: 800  +2 14th  4th  Tajikistan  8th  1  2  5 009:200 −11 05  5.  Bangladesh  8th  0  1  7th 002:320 −30 01

Group C Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points  1.  Qatar  8th  7th  0  1 029: 400 +25 21st  2.  China  8th  5  2  1 027: 100 +26 17th  3.  Hong Kong  8th  4th  2  2 013: 500  +8 14th  4th  Maldives  8th  2  0  6th 008:200 −12 06th  5.  Bhutan  8th  0  0  8th 005:520 −47 00

Group D Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points  1.  Iran  8th  6th  2  0 026: 300 +23 20th  2.  Oman  8th  4th  2  2 011: 700  +4 14th  3.  Turkmenistan  8th  4th  1  3 010:110  −1 13  4th  Guam  8th  2  1  5 003:160 −13 07th  5.  India  8th  1  0  7th 005:180 −13 03

Group E Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points  1.  Japan  8th  7th  1  0 027: 000 +27 22nd  2.  Syria  8th  6th  0  2 026:110 +15 18th  3.  Singapore  8th  3  1  4th 009: 900  ± 0 10  4th  Afghanistan  8th  3  0  5 008:240 −16 09  5.  Cambodia  8th  0  0  8th 001:270 −26 00

Group F. Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points  1.  Thailand  6th  4th  2  0 014: 600  +8 14th  2.  Iraq  6th  3  3  0 013: 600  +7 12  3.  Vietnam  6th  2  1  3 007: 800  −1 07th  4th  Chinese Taipei  6th  0  0  6th 005:190 −14 00

Group G Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points  1.  South Korea  8th  8th  0  0 027: 000 +27 24  2.  Lebanon  8th  3  2  3 012: 600  +6 11  3.  Kuwait  8th  3  1  4th 012:100  +2 10  4th  Myanmar  8th  2  2  4th 009:210 −12 08th  5.  Laos  8th  1  1  6th 006:290 −23 04th

Group H. Pl. country Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points  1.  Uzbekistan  8th  7th  0  1 020: 700 +13 21st  2.  North Korea  8th  5  1  2 014: 800  +6 16  3.  Philippines  8th  3  1  4th 008:120  −4 10  4th  Bahrain  8th  3  0  5 010:100  ± 0 09  5.  Yemen  8th  1  0  7th 002:170 −15 03

Table of runners-up

In order to make all runners-up in the group comparable, the games of the runners-up against the bottom of the group were not taken into account in the groups of five.

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points	group	Last group
1.	Iraq	6th	3	3	0	013: 600	+7	12	F.	-
2.	Syria	6th	4th	0	2	014:110	+3	12	E.	Cambodia
3.	Ver. Arab. Emirates	6th	3	2	1	016: 400	+12	11	A.	East Timor
4th	China	6th	3	2	1	009: 100	+8	11	C.	Bhutan
5.	North Korea	6th	3	1	2	010: 800	+2	10	H	Yemen
6th	Jordan	6th	3	1	2	009: 700	+2	10	B.	Bangladesh
7th	Oman	6th	2	2	2	006: 600	± 0	08th	D.	India
8th.	Lebanon	6th	1	2	3	003: 600	−3	05	G	Laos

Table of fourth group

In order to make all group fourths comparable, the games of the group fourth against the group bottom were not taken into account in the groups of five.

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points	group	Last group
1.	Guam	6th	1	1	4th	001:140	−13	04th	D.	India
2.	Myanmar	6th	1	1	4th	004:180	−14	04th	G	Laos
3.	Bahrain	6th	1	0	5	003:100	−7	03	H	Yemen
4th	Afghanistan	6th	1	0	5	004:240	−20	03	E.	Cambodia
5.	Tajikistan	6th	0	1	5	003:190	−16	01	B.	Bangladesh
6th	Chinese Taipei	6th	0	0	6th	005:190	−14	00	F.	-
7th	Maldives	6th	0	0	6th	000:150	−15	00	C.	Bhutan
8th.	Malaysia	6th	0	0	6th	001:290	−28	00	A.	East Timor

Play-off round

The four worst group fourth and the seven group fifth qualified for the play-off round. The draw took place on April 7, 2016 in Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia ). The ten best teams were divided into two pots according to their results from the second qualifying round and drawn against each other. The five winners of the first round qualified directly for the third qualifying round, the losers played in the second round together with Bhutan for the remaining three places.

Round 1

The first legs took place on June 2 and the second legs on June 6 and 7, 2016.

	total		First leg	Return leg
Chinese Taipei	2: 4	Cambodia	2: 2 (2: 2)	0: 2 (0: 1)
Maldives	0: 4	Yemen	0: 2 (0: 1)	0: 2 (0: 1)
Tajikistan	6-0	Bangladesh	5: 0 (3: 0)	1: 0 (1: 0)
Malaysia	6-0	East Timor	3: 0 (2: 0)	3: 0 (1: 0)
Laos	1: 7	India	0: 1 (0: 0)	1: 6 (1: 2)

round 2

The first legs took place on September 6 and October 8, and the second legs on October 10 and 11, 2016.

	total		First leg	Return leg
Maldives	5: 1	Laos	4: 0 (1: 0)	1: 1 (0: 0)
Bangladesh	1: 3	Bhutan	0-0	1: 3 (0: 2)
East Timor	2: 4	Chinese Taipei	1: 2 (1: 2)	1: 2 (0: 1)

Third round

The four worst runners-up, the thirds in the group and the four best fourths in the group qualified for the third round. Then there were the five winners of the first play-off round and the three winners of the second play-off round. Guam withdrew from the competition in December 2016 for financial reasons and was replaced by the winner of the AFC Solidarity Cup 2016 , Nepal . The suspension of Kuwait by FIFA was not lifted by the set date, January 11, 2017. The runner-up in the Solidarity Cup, Macau , was chosen as a replacement .

The draw took place on January 23, 2017 in Abu Dhabi ( United Arab Emirates ). The 24 teams were divided into four pots according to their placement in the FIFA world rankings of January 12, 2017 and then drawn into the six groups.

Grouping

Group 1	Group 2	Group 3
Kyrgyzstan	North Korea	Jordan
India	Hong Kong	Vietnam
Myanmar	Lebanon	Afghanistan
Macau	Malaysia	Cambodia
Group 4	Group 5	Group 6
Oman	Bahrain	Philippines
Palestine	Turkmenistan	Tajikistan
Maldives	Chinese Taipei	Yemen
Bhutan	Singapore	Nepal

Group 1

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	India	6th	4th	1	1	011: 500	+6	13
2.	Kyrgyzstan	6th	4th	1	1	014: 800	+6	13
3.	Myanmar	6th	2	2	2	010:100	± 0	08th
4th	Macau	6th	0	0	6th	004:160	−12	00

Game results

03/28/2017	Rangoon	Myanmar	-	India	0: 1 (0: 0)
03/28/2017	Bishkek	Kyrgyzstan	-	Macau	1: 0 (0: 0)
06/13/2017	Macau	Macau	-	Myanmar	0: 4 (0: 2)
06/13/2017	Bangalore	India	-	Kyrgyzstan	1: 0 (0: 0)
05.09.2017	Macau	Macau	-	India	0: 2 (0: 0)
10/10/2017	Rangoon	Myanmar	-	Kyrgyzstan	2: 2 (0: 1)

10/11/2017	Bangalore	India	-	Macau	4: 1 (1: 1)
11/14/2017	Macau	Macau	-	Kyrgyzstan	3: 4 (0: 2)
11/14/2017	Margao	India	-	Myanmar	2: 2 (1: 2)
22.03.2018 1	Incheon ( KOR ) 1	Kyrgyzstan	-	Myanmar	5: 1 (2: 0)
03/27/2018	Rangoon	Myanmar	-	Macau	1: 0 (0: 0)
03/27/2018	Bishkek	Kyrgyzstan	-	India	2: 1 (1: 0)

annotation

¹Due to heightened security concerns from the Kyrgyz government, the AFC has decided to postpone the game that was originally scheduled for September 5, 2017 in Bishkek . It took place on March 22, 2018 at the Incheon neutral football stadium in Incheon .

Group 2

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Lebanon	6th	5	1	0	014: 400	+10	16
2.	North Korea	6th	3	2	1	013:100	+3	11
3.	Hong Kong	6th	1	2	3	004: 700	−3	05
4th	Malaysia	6th	0	1	5	005:150	−10	01

Game results

03/28/2017	Beirut	Lebanon	-	Hong Kong	2: 0 (2: 0)
06/13/2017	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	-	North Korea	1: 1 (1: 0)
06/13/2017	Johor Bahru	Malaysia	-	Lebanon	1: 2 (1: 0)
05.09.2017	Pyongyang	North Korea	-	Lebanon	2: 2 (1: 0)
05.09.2017	Malacca	Malaysia	-	Hong Kong	1: 1 (0: 0)
10/10/2017	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	-	Malaysia	2: 0 (1: 0)

10/10/2017	Beirut	Lebanon	-	North Korea	5: 0 (2: 0)
11/10/2017 1	Buri Ram ( THA ) 1	North Korea	-	Malaysia	4: 1 (2: 0)
11/13/2017 1	Buri Ram (THA) 1	Malaysia	-	North Korea	1: 4 (0: 3)
11/14/2017	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	-	Lebanon	0: 1 (0: 1)
03/27/2018	Pyongyang	North Korea	-	Hong Kong	2: 0 (2: 0)
03/27/2018	Beirut	Lebanon	-	Malaysia	2: 1 (1: 0)

annotation

¹Due to the tense relationship between North Korea and Malaysia , the game, which was originally scheduled for March 28, 2017, was initially postponed to June 8, 2017. After the AFC postponed the game two more times in May 2017 and September 2017, the game and the second leg took place in November 2017 at the neutral Buriram Stadium in Buri Ram .

Group 3

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Jordan	6th	3	3	0	016: 500	+11	12
2.	Vietnam	6th	2	4th	0	009: 300	+6	10
3.	Afghanistan	6th	1	3	2	007:100	−3	06th
4th	Cambodia	6th	1	0	5	003:170	−14	03

Game results

03/28/2017	Dushanbe ( TJK ) 1	Afghanistan	-	Vietnam	1: 1 (0: 0)
03/28/2017	Amman	Jordan	-	Cambodia	7: 0 (2: 0)
06/13/2017	Phnom Penh	Cambodia	-	Afghanistan	1: 0 (0: 0)
06/13/2017	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	-	Jordan	0-0
05.09.2017	Phnom Penh	Cambodia	-	Vietnam	1: 2 (1: 1)
05.09.2017	Amman	Jordan	-	Afghanistan	4: 1 (3: 0)

10/10/2017	Dushanbe (TJK) 1	Afghanistan	-	Jordan	3: 3 (1: 2)
10/10/2017	Hanoi	Vietnam	-	Cambodia	5: 0 (1: 0)
11/14/2017	Phnom Penh	Cambodia	-	Jordan	0: 1 (0: 1)
11/14/2017	Hanoi	Vietnam	-	Afghanistan	0-0
03/27/2018	Dushanbe (TJK) 1	Afghanistan	-	Cambodia	2: 1 (2: 0)
03/27/2018	Amman	Jordan	-	Vietnam	1: 1 (0: 1)

annotation

¹Due to the tense security situation in Afghanistan , the game was played on neutral ground.

Group 4

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Oman	6th	5	0	1	028: 500	+23	15th
2.	Palestine	6th	5	0	1	025: 300	+22	15th
3.	Maldives	6th	2	0	4th	011:190	−8	06th
4th	Bhutan	6th	0	0	6th	002:390	−37	00

Game results

03/28/2017	Muscat	Oman	-	Bhutan	14: 0 (7: 0)
03/28/2017	Times	Maldives	-	Palestine	00: 3 (0: 0)
06/13/2017	Thimphu	Bhutan	-	Maldives	00: 2 (0: 1)
06/13/2017	al-Ram	Palestine	-	Oman	02: 1 (2: 1)
05.09.2017	Thimphu	Bhutan	-	Palestine	00: 2 (0: 0)
05.09.2017	Muscat	Oman	-	Maldives	05: 0 (1: 0)

10/10/2017	Hebron	Palestine	-	Bhutan	10: 0 (6: 0)
10/10/2017	Times	Maldives	-	Oman	01: 3 (1: 2)
11/14/2017	Thimphu	Bhutan	-	Oman	02: 4 (0: 0)
11/14/2017	Jenin	Palestine	-	Maldives	08: 1 (4: 0)
03/27/2018	Muscat	Oman	-	Palestine	01: 0 (0: 0)
03/27/2018	Times	Maldives	-	Bhutan	07: 0 (1: 0)

Group 5

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Bahrain	6th	4th	1	1	015: 300	+12	13
2.	Turkmenistan	6th	3	1	2	009:100	−1	10
3.	Chinese Taipei	6th	3	0	3	007:120	−5	09
4th	Singapore	6th	0	2	4th	003: 900	−6	02

Game results

03/26/2017	Taipei	Chinese Taipei	-	Turkmenistan	1: 3 (1: 2)
03/28/2017	Riffa	Bahrain	-	Singapore	0-0
06/10/2017	Singapore (1)	Singapore	-	Chinese Taipei	1: 2 (1: 1)
06/13/2017	Daşoguz	Turkmenistan	-	Bahrain	1: 2 (0: 0)
05.09.2017	Singapore (1)	Singapore	-	Turkmenistan	1: 1 (0: 0)
05.09.2017	Riffa	Bahrain	-	Chinese Taipei	5: 0 (2: 0)

10/10/2017	Taipei	Chinese Taipei	-	Bahrain	2: 1 (0: 1)
10/10/2017	Ashgabat	Turkmenistan	-	Singapore	2: 1 (1: 1)
11/14/2017	Balkanabat	Turkmenistan	-	Chinese Taipei	2: 1 (2: 0)
11/14/2017	Singapore (2)	Singapore	-	Bahrain	0: 3 (0: 0)
03/27/2018	Taipei	Chinese Taipei	-	Singapore	1: 0 (1: 0)
03/27/2018	Riffa	Bahrain	-	Turkmenistan	4: 0 (2: 0)

Group 6

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Philippines	6th	3	3	0	013: 800	+5	12
2.	Yemen	6th	2	4th	0	007: 500	+2	10
3.	Tajikistan	6th	2	1	3	010: 900	+1	07th
4th	Nepal	6th	0	2	4th	003:110	−8	02

Game results

03/28/2017	Manila	Philippines	-	Nepal	4: 1 (3: 1)
03/28/2017	Doha ( QAT ) 1	Yemen	-	Tajikistan	2: 1 (1: 1)
06/13/2017	Kathmandu	Nepal	-	Yemen	0-0
06/13/2017	Dushanbe	Tajikistan	-	Philippines	3: 4 (0: 2)
05.09.2017	Lalitpur	Nepal	-	Tajikistan	1: 2 (0: 2)
05.09.2017	Bacolod City	Philippines	-	Yemen	2: 2 (1: 1)

10/10/2017	Hissor	Tajikistan	-	Nepal	3: 0 (1: 0)
10/10/2017	Al-Wakra (QAT) 1	Yemen	-	Philippines	1: 1 (0: 0)
11/14/2017	Lalitpur	Nepal	-	Philippines	0-0
11/14/2017	Hissor	Tajikistan	-	Yemen	0-0
03/27/2018	Manila	Philippines	-	Tajikistan	2: 1 (0: 0)
03/27/2018	Doha (QAT) 1	Yemen	-	Nepal	2: 1 (1: 1)

annotation

¹Due to the tense security situation in Yemen , the game was played on neutral ground.

List of goalscorers

Below are the top scorers in the qualification. If the number of goals is the same, the players are sorted alphabetically. Players in italics did not qualify for the finals with their teams.

rank	Nat	player	Gates
01		Mohammad al-Sahlawi	14th
02		Ahmed Khalil	11
03		Hamza al-Dardour	10
		Anton Zemlyanuchin	10
05		Manuchekhr Dzhalilov	09
06th		Tim Cahill	08th
		Sunil Chhetri	08th
		Khalid al-Hajri	08th
		Abdulaziz al-Muqbali	08th
		Yang Xu	08th

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Draw date set for Round 2 of 2018 World Cup, 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers . In: The-AFC.com . March 5, 2015. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 10, 2015. 
2. ↑ World Cup draw looms large in Asia . In: FIFA.com . April 13, 2015. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Teams for final round of AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers confirmed . In: The-AFC.com . January 13, 2017. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Accessed March 31, 2018. 
4. ↑ India v Nepal headlines 2018 World Cup, 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers draw . In: The-AFC.com . February 10, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
5. ↑ UAE 2019 Qualifiers Play-off draw concluded . In: The-AFC.com . April 7, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
6. ^ Deadline for decision on Kuwait's participation extended . In: The-AFC.com . December 23, 2016. Accessed December 23, 2016.
7. ↑ Draw for final round of AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 qualifiers concluded . In: The-AFC.com . January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
8. ↑ FIFA World Ranking (January 12, 2017) . In: FIFA.com . January 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
9. ↑ Kyrgyz Republic-Myanmar AFC Asian Cup 2019 Qualifier postponed . In: The-AFC.com . September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
10. ↑ DPR Korea - Malaysia AFC Asian Cup qualifier to take place on June 8 . In: The-AFC.com . March 15, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
11. ↑ AFC postpones DPR Korea v Malaysia Asian Cup Qualifier . In: The-AFC.com . May 17, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
12. ↑ DPR Korea – Malaysia AFC Asian Cup 2019 qualifying match postponed . In: The-AFC.com . September 28, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
13. ^ DPR Korea and Malaysia matches to be played in Buriram, Thailand . In: The-AFC.com . November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.