U-23 soccer Asian Cup 2016 / qualification

On the qualification for 2016 AFC U-23 Championship to 43 of the 47 member associations of the participating AFC . Only Bhutan , Guam , the Northern Mariana Islands and Turkmenistan did not take part. The final round was awarded to Qatar , whose team was automatically qualified for the round of the last 16 teams. The remaining 42 teams had to qualify in the preliminary round.

mode

The originally 43 national teams were divided into the western and eastern regions according to their geographical location. The western region includes countries in West, Central and South Asia and the eastern region includes countries in Southeast and East Asia as well as Australia.

The western region consisted of three groups with five teams and two groups with four teams and the eastern region of five groups with four teams. All national selections were divided into nine pots, with pots 1 to 4 and 6 to 9 each comprising five teams, while pot 5 contained three teams. Decisive for the division of the pot was the performance at the U-22 Asian football championship in 2013 .

In the individual groups, the national teams competed once against each other on a permanent venue. The games of groups A and C to J were played between March 23 and 31, 2015. Group B was initially postponed due to bomb attacks and civil unrest in the intended city. It took place from May 16 to 24, 2015. The ten group winners and the five best runners-up from all groups ultimately qualified for the finals.

Grouping

The draw took place on December 4, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur at 11 a.m. local time and resulted in the following groups.

Western region

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D	Group E
Iraq	Jordan	Saudi Arabia	Ver. Arab. Emirates	Syria
Oman	Kuwait	Iran	Yemen	Uzbekistan
Bahrain	Kyrgyzstan	Nepal	Tajikistan	India
Lebanon	Pakistan	Palestine	Sri Lanka	Bangladesh
Maldives	Turkmenistan 1	Afghanistan

Eastern region

Group F.	Group G	Group H.	Group I.	Group J
Australia	North Korea	South Korea	Japan	China
Myanmar	Thailand	Indonesia	Malaysia	Laos
Chinese Taipei	Cambodia	East Timor	Vietnam	Singapore
Hong Kong	Philippines	Brunei	Macau	Mongolia

annotation

¹ Turkmenistan withdrew from the competition on May 8, 2015.

groups

Group A

The games all took place in the Sultan Qaboos Sports Center in Muscat ( Oman ).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Iraq	4th	3	1	0	015: 400	+11	10
2.	Oman	4th	2	2	0	012: 300	+9	08th
3.	Bahrain	4th	1	2	1	004: 300	+1	05
4th	Lebanon	4th	1	1	2	003: 900	−6	04th
5.	Maldives	4th	0	0	4th	002:170	−15	00

Game results

03/23/2015	Bahrain	-	Oman	1: 1 (0: 0)
03/23/2015	Maldives	-	Lebanon	1: 2 (1: 0)
03/25/2015	Lebanon	-	Iraq	1: 4 (0: 1)
03/25/2015	Maldives	-	Bahrain	0: 3 (0: 1)
03/27/2015	Iraq	-	Maldives	7: 1 (2: 1)
03/27/2015	Oman	-	Lebanon	4: 0 (3: 0)
03/29/2015	Oman	-	Maldives	5: 0 (3: 0)
03/29/2015	Bahrain	-	Iraq	0: 2 (0: 0)
03/31/2015	Lebanon	-	Bahrain	0-0
03/31/2015	Iraq	-	Oman	2: 2 (1: 0)

Group B

The games were originally supposed to take place in the Punjab Stadium in Lahore ( Pakistan ) from March 23 to 31, 2015 , but were then canceled due to bomb attacks and civil unrest in the city. The Al Qattara Stadium in al-Ain ( United Arab Emirates ) was selected as a replacement . The team from Turkmenistan withdrew from the competition on May 8, 2015.

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Jordan	3	2	1	0	012: 300	+9	07th
2.	Kuwait	3	1	2	0	005: 300	+2	05
3.	Pakistan	3	1	0	2	003: 800	−5	03
4th	Kyrgyzstan	3	0	1	2	001: 700	−6	01

Game results

05/16/2015	Jordan	-	Pakistan	5: 0 (2: 0)
05/16/2015	Kuwait	-	Kyrgyzstan	0-0
05/18/2015	Pakistan	-	Kuwait	0: 2 (0: 2)
05/18/2015	Kyrgyzstan	-	Jordan	0: 4 (0: 1)
05/20/2015	Jordan	-	Kuwait	3: 3 (0: 0)
05/20/2015	Kyrgyzstan	-	Pakistan	1: 3 (1: 1)

Group C

The games all took place in the PAS Stadium or in the Azadi Stadium in Tehran ( Iran ).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Saudi Arabia	4th	3	1	0	009: 100	+8	10
2.	Iran	4th	3	0	1	015: 200	+13	09
3.	Palestine	4th	2	0	2	006: 400	+2	06th
4th	Afghanistan	4th	1	1	2	002: 800	−6	04th
5.	Nepal	4th	0	0	4th	000:170	−17	00

Game results

03/23/2015	Afghanistan	-	Palestine	0: 2 (0: 1)
03/23/2015	Nepal	-	Iran	0: 5 (0: 2)
03/25/2015	Palestine	-	Saudi Arabia	0: 1 (0: 0)
03/25/2015	Afghanistan	-	Nepal	2: 0 (0: 0)
03/27/2015	Saudi Arabia	-	Afghanistan	0-0
03/27/2015	Iran	-	Palestine	3: 0 (0: 0)
03/29/2015	Nepal	-	Saudi Arabia	0: 6 (0: 3)
03/29/2015	Iran	-	Afghanistan	6: 0 (4: 0)
03/31/2015	Palestine	-	Nepal	4: 0 (1: 0)
03/31/2015	Saudi Arabia	-	Iran	2: 1 (0: 0)

Group D

The games all took place in the Fujairah Club Stadium in Fujairah ( United Arab Emirates ).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Ver. Arab. Emirates	3	3	0	0	008-000	+8	09
2.	Yemen	3	2	0	1	007: 200	+5	06th
3.	Tajikistan	3	1	0	2	006: 600	± 0	03
4th	Sri Lanka	3	0	0	3	001:140	−13	00

Game results

03/27/2015	Ver. Arab. Emirates	-	Sri Lanka	4: 0 (2: 0)
03/27/2015	Yemen	-	Tajikistan	2: 1 (1: 0)
03/29/2015	Sri Lanka	-	Yemen	0: 5 (0: 2)
03/29/2015	Tajikistan	-	Ver. Arab. Emirates	0: 3 (0: 2)
03/31/2015	Ver. Arab. Emirates	-	Yemen	1: 0 (0: 0)
03/31/2015	Tajikistan	-	Sri Lanka	5: 1 (1: 1)

Group E

The games all took place at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka ( Bangladesh ).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Syria	3	3	0	0	010: 100	+9	09
2.	Uzbekistan	3	2	0	1	007: 200	+5	06th
3.	India	3	0	1	2	000: 600	−6	01
4th	Bangladesh	3	0	1	2	000: 800	−8	01

Game results

03/27/2015	Uzbekistan	-	India	2: 0 (0: 0)
03/27/2015	Syria	-	Bangladesh	4: 0 (3: 0)
03/29/2015	India	-	Syria	0: 4 (0: 2)
03/29/2015	Bangladesh	-	Uzbekistan	0: 4 (0: 4)
03/31/2015	Syria	-	Uzbekistan	2: 1 (2: 0)
03/31/2015	India	-	Bangladesh	0-0

Group F.

The games all took place at the Kaohsiung National Stadium in Kaohsiung ( Republic of China on the island of Taiwan ).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Australia	3	3	0	0	015: 100	+14	09
2.	Myanmar	3	2	0	1	006: 600	± 0	06th
3.	Chinese Taipei	3	1	0	2	003: 800	−5	03
4th	Hong Kong	3	0	0	3	002:110	−9	00

Game results

03/27/2015	Australia	-	Hong Kong	6: 0 (2: 0)
03/27/2015	Myanmar	-	Chinese Taipei	3: 0 (1: 0)
03/29/2015	Hong Kong	-	Myanmar	1: 2 (1: 0)
03/29/2015	Chinese Taipei	-	Australia	0: 4 (0: 2)
03/31/2015	Australia	-	Myanmar	5: 1 (2: 0)
03/31/2015	Chinese Taipei	-	Hong Kong	3: 1 (2: 0)

Group G

The games were all in the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok ( Thailand instead).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	North Korea	3	2	1	0	008: 100	+7	07th
2.	Thailand	3	2	1	0	007: 200	+5	07th
3.	Cambodia	3	1	0	2	005: 700	−2	03
4th	Philippines	3	0	0	3	002:120	−10	00

Game results

03/27/2015	North Korea	-	Philippines	4: 0 (2: 0)
03/27/2015	Thailand	-	Cambodia	2: 1 (0: 1)
03/29/2015	Cambodia	-	North Korea	1: 4 (0: 2)
03/29/2015	Philippines	-	Thailand	1: 5 (0: 1)
03/31/2015	Cambodia	-	Philippines	3: 1 (3: 0)
03/31/2015	North Korea	-	Thailand	0-0

Group H.

The games were all in the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta ( Indonesia instead).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	South Korea	3	3	0	0	012: 000	+12	09
2.	Indonesia	3	2	0	1	007: 400	+3	06th
3.	East Timor	3	1	0	2	003: 800	−5	03
4th	Brunei	3	0	0	3	000:100	−10	00

Game results

03/27/2015	South Korea	-	Brunei	5: 0 (3: 0)
03/27/2015	Indonesia	-	East Timor	5: 0 (2: 0)
03/29/2015	Brunei	-	Indonesia	0: 2 (0: 0)
03/29/2015	East Timor	-	South Korea	0: 3 (0: 2)
03/31/2015	South Korea	-	Indonesia	4: 0 (0: 0)
03/31/2015	East Timor	-	Brunei	3: 0 (1: 0)

Group I.

The games were all in the Shah Alam Stadium in Shah Alam ( Malaysia instead).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Japan	3	3	0	0	010-000	+10	09
2.	Vietnam	3	2	0	1	009: 300	+6	06th
3.	Malaysia	3	1	0	2	003: 300	± 0	03
4th	Macau	3	0	0	3	000:160	−16	00

Game results

03/27/2015	Japan	-	Macau	7: 0 (4: 0)
03/27/2015	Malaysia	-	Vietnam	1: 2 (1: 2)
03/29/2015	Macau	-	Malaysia	0: 2 (0: 1)
03/29/2015	Vietnam	-	Japan	0: 2 (0: 1)
03/31/2015	Vietnam	-	Macau	7: 0 (6: 0)
03/31/2015	Japan	-	Malaysia	1: 0 (1: 0)

Group J

The games all took place in the Laos National Stadium in Vientiane ( Laos ).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	China	3	3	0	0	013: 000	+13	09
2.	Laos	3	1	1	1	007: 300	+4	04th
3.	Singapore	3	0	2	1	002: 700	−5	02
4th	Mongolia	3	0	1	2	002:140	−12	01

Game results

03/27/2015	China	-	Mongolia	5: 0 (3: 0)
03/27/2015	Laos	-	Singapore	0-0
03/29/2015	Singapore	-	China	0: 5 (0: 2)
03/29/2015	Mongolia	-	Laos	0: 7 (0: 2)
03/31/2015	Singapore	-	Mongolia	2: 2 (1: 2)
03/31/2015	China	-	Laos	3: 0 (1: 0)

Ranking of the runners-up

In addition to the ten group winners, the five best runners-up also qualified for the final round. 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 groups of five (groups A and C).

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Thailand	3	2	1	0	007: 200	+5	07th
2.	Iran	3	2	0	1	010: 200	+8	06th
3.	Vietnam	3	2	0	1	009: 300	+6	06th
4th	Yemen	3	2	0	1	007: 200	+5	06th
5.	Uzbekistan	3	2	0	1	007: 200	+5	06th
6th	Indonesia	3	2	0	1	007: 400	+3	06th
7th	Myanmar	3	2	0	1	006: 600	± 0	06th
8th.	Oman	3	1	2	0	007: 300	+4	05
9.	Kuwait	3	1	2	0	005: 300	+2	05
10.	Laos	3	1	1	1	007: 300	+4	04th

Web links

• Official website of the U-23 Asian Football Championship

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} AFC announces postponement of AFC U-23 Group B qualifiers . In: The-AFC.com . March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved on April 4, 2015.
2. ↑ ^{a b} U-23 Group B Qualifiers to be held in UAE . In: The-AFC.com . April 3, 2015. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved on April 4, 2015.
3. ↑ AFC U-23 Championship 2016 Qualifiers draw on Thursday . In: The-AFC.com . December 3, 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved on December 3, 2014.
4. ↑ Holders Iraq face stern test in AFC U-23 C'ship qualifiers . In: The-AFC.com . December 4, 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved on December 4, 2014.
5. ↑ Turkmenistan withdraw from AFC U-23 C'ship 2016 Qualifiers . In: The-AFC.com . May 8, 2015. Accessed May 9, 2015.