Football West Asian Cup 2008
|
Football West Asian Championship 2008 LG WAFF Championship, IR Iran 2008 ™ |
|
| Number of nations | 6 finalists |
| venue |
 Iran
|
| opening | August 7, 2008 |
| Endgame | August 15, 2008 |
| Games | 9 |
| Gates | 26 (2.8 per game) |
| Top scorer | Kianoush Rahmati (3 goals) |
The 2008 West Asian Football Championship (officially: LG WAFF Championship, IR Iran 2008 ) was held from August 7th to 15th, 2008 in the Iranian capital Tehran . Six teams competed in the finals organized by the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) to determine the West Asian champions.
Originally, the tournament was supposed to be played in Lebanon , but due to the domestic political situation , Iran will host the tournament again after 2004 .
In addition to the member states of the WAFF, the Persian Gulf states Oman and Qatar , which were invited to this final round, will also take part in the tournament. The teams of Lebanon and Iraq withdrew their participation before the groups were drawn from the tournament.
The venues were the Takhti Stadium (Tehran, capacity: 30,000) and Iran's national stadium , built in 1973, the Azadi Stadium , which is one of the largest stadiums in the world with a capacity of 100,000.
Hosts and defending champions Iran won the tournament after beating Jordan 2-1 in the final. For the Iranians it was the fourth title in this championship, only the second West Asian Championship (2002) the Iranian team could not win.
Attendees
The six participating teams were divided into two groups of three teams each. In the group stage, the teams played against each other once in the league system . The group winner and the runner-up reached the semifinals. The winners of the semi-finals played the final. Third place is not played out.
The preliminary round draw took place on July 1, 2008 at the WAFF headquarters in Amman , the capital of Jordan . The following groups emerged:
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
|
Iran
|
 Syria
|
 Qatar
|
 Oman
|
 Palestine
|
 Jordan
|
Games and results
Preliminary round
Group A
| Pl. | country | Sp. | S. | U | N | Gates | Diff. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Iran
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9: 1 | +8 | 6th |
| 2. |
Qatar
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2: 6 | −4 | 3 |
| 3. |
Palestine
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0: 4 | −4 | 0 |
| August 7, 2008 | |||
| Iran | - | Palestine | 3: 0 (2: 0) |
| August 9, 2008 | |||
| Palestine | - | Qatar | 0: 1 (0: 0) |
| August 11, 2008 | |||
| Qatar | - | Iran | 1: 6 (0: 2) |
Group B
| Pl. | country | Sp. | S. | U | N | Gates | Diff. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Jordan
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3: 1 | +2 | 4th |
| 2. |
Syria
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2: 1 | +1 | 4th |
| 3. |
Oman
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2: 5 | −3 | 0 |
| August 7, 2008 | |||
| Syria | - | Jordan | 0-0 |
| August 9, 2008 | |||
| Oman | - | Syria | 1: 2 (0: 1) |
| August 11, 2008 | |||
| Jordan | - | Oman | 3: 1 (1: 1) |
Semifinals
| August 13, 2008 | |||
| Iran |
- |
Syria
|
2: 0 (1: 0) |
| August 13, 2008 | |||
| Jordan |
- |
Qatar
|
3: 0 (1: 0) |
final
| August 15, 2008 | |||
| Iran |
- |
Jordan
|
2: 1 (1: 0) |