2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup

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2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup
كأس آسيا لكرة القدم للسيدات 2018
2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup logo.svg
Tournament details
Host countryJordan
CityAmman
Dates6–20 April
Teams8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)2 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of Japan.svg  Japan (2nd title)
Runners-upFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Third placeFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Fourth placeFlag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Tournament statistics
Matches played17
Goals scored66 (3.88 per match)
Attendance31,537 (1,855 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Li Ying (7 goals)
Best player(s) Flag of Japan.svg Mana Iwabuchi
Fair play awardFlag of Japan.svg  Japan
2014
2022

The 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup was the 19th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament in Asia competed by the women's national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was originally scheduled to be held in Jordan between 7 and 22 April 2018, but later was changed to 6 to 20 April 2018. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

The tournament served as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the top five teams qualifying for the World Cup in France. [4]

Japan defeated Australia 1–0 in the final to win their second consecutive title. In the third-place match the same day, China PR defeated Thailand 3–1. [5]

Qualification

The draw for the qualifiers was held on 21 January 2017. [6] The top three finishers of the last AFC Women's Cup qualified automatically and did not have to enter qualifying, while Jordan also qualified automatically as hosts but decided to also participate in the qualifying competition. [7] The matches were played from 3 to 12 April 2017. [8]

Qualified teams

The following eight teams qualified for the tournament. [9]

TeamQualified asAppearancePrevious best performance FIFA ranking
at start of event [10]
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Hosts2ndGroup stage (2014)51
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2014 champions16thChampions (2014)11
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 2014 runners-up6thChampions (2010)6
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 2014 third place14thChampions (1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2006)17
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Group A runners-up [note 1] 9thGroup stage (1981, 1983, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003)72
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Group B winners12thThird place (2003)16
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Group C winners16thChampions (1983)30
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam Group D winners8thGroup stage (1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014)35

Notes:

  1. Since the Group A winners Jordan already automatically qualified for the final tournament as hosts, Philippines also qualified for the final tournament as runners-up. [11]

Venues

The competition was played in two venues in the city of Amman.

Amman Amman
Amman International Stadium King Abdullah II Stadium
Staad Amman Aldowali.jpeg King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan.jpg
Capacity: 17,619Capacity: 13,000

Draw

The final draw was held on 9 December 2017, 13:00 EET (UTC+2), at the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Center on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea. [12] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. [13] The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup final tournament and qualification, with the hosts Jordan automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw. [14]

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4
  1. Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan (hosts)
  2. Flag of Japan.svg  Japan

Squads

Each team must register a squad of minimum 18 players and maximum 23 players, minimum three of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 31.4 and 31.5). [15]

Match officials

A total of 10 referees and 12 assistant referees were appointed for the final tournament.

Referees
Assistant referees

Group stage

The top two teams of each group qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup as well as the semi-finals. The third-placed team of each group entered the fifth-placed match.

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 11.5): [15]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

All times are local, AST (UTC+3). [16]

Schedule
MatchdayDatesMatches
Matchday 16–7 April 20181 v 4, 2 v 3
Matchday 29–10 April 20184 v 2, 3 v 1
Matchday 312–13 April 20181 v 2, 3 v 4

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 3300151+149 Knockout stage and
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
2Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 320196+36
3Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 31023743 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup playoff
4Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan (H)3003316130
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
China  Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg4–0Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Report
Jordan  Flag of Jordan.svg1–2Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines
Report

Philippines  Flag of the Philippines.svg0–3Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Report
Thailand  Flag of Thailand.svg6–1Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan
Report

Jordan  Flag of Jordan.svg1–8Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Report
Amman International Stadium, Amman
Attendance: 4,428
Referee: Công Thị Dung (Vietnam)
Thailand  Flag of Thailand.svg3–1Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines
Report
King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman
Attendance: 512
Referee: Oh Hyeon-jeong (South Korea)

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 312091+85 [a] Knockout stage and
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
2Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 312051+45 [a]
3Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 312040+45 [a] 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup playoff
4Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 3003016160
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. 1 2 3 Head-to-head results: Australia 0–0 South Korea, South Korea 0–0 Japan, Japan 1–1 Australia. Head-to-head standings:
    • Australia: 2 pts, 0 GD, 1 GF
    • Japan: 2 pts, 0 GD, 1 GF
    • South Korea: 2 pts, 0 GD, 0 GF
    South Korea are ranked third on head-to-head goals scored. Australia and Japan are tied on their own head-to-head result, and are ranked on total goal difference.
Japan  Flag of Japan.svg4–0Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam
Report
King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman
Attendance: 142
Referee: Thein Thein Aye (Myanmar)
Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg0–0Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Report
King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman
Attendance: 230
Referee: Qin Liang (China)

South Korea  Flag of South Korea.svg0–0Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Report
Amman International Stadium, Amman
Attendance: 356
Referee: Qin Liang (China)
Vietnam  Flag of Vietnam.svg0–8Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Report
Amman International Stadium, Amman
Attendance: 401
Referee: Edita Mirabidova (Uzbekistan)

Japan  Flag of Japan.svg1–1Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Report
South Korea  Flag of South Korea.svg4–0Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam
Report
King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman
Attendance: 86
Referee: Mahsa Ghorbani (Iran)

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where penalty shoot-out (no extra time) is used to decide the winner if necessary. [15]

Bracket

 
Semi-finals Final
 
      
 
17 April – King Abdullah II
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 1
 
20 April – Amman International
 
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 3
 
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1
 
17 April – King Abdullah II
 
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 0
 
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia (p)2 (3)
 
 
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 2 (1)
 
Third place match
 
 
20 April – Amman International
 
 
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 3
 
 
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 1
 
Fifth place match
 
  
 
16 April – Amman International
 
 
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 0
 
 
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 5
 

Fifth place match

Winner qualified for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Philippines  Flag of the Philippines.svg0–5Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Report

Semi-finals

Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg2–2 (a.e.t.)Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Report
Penalties
3–1
King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman
Attendance: 166
Referee: Edita Mirabidova (Uzbekistan)

China  Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg1–3Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Report

Third place match

China  Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg3–1Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Report

Final

Japan  Flag of Japan.svg1–0Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Report

Awards

 AFC Women's Asian Cup 2018 winners 
Flag of Japan.svg
Japan
Second title

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

Most Valuable Player [17] Top Scorer [18] Fairplay Award [19]
Flag of Japan.svg Mana Iwabuchi Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Li Ying (7 goals)Flag of Japan.svg  Japan

Goalscorers

There were 66 goals scored in 17 matches, for an average of 3.88 goals per match.

7 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

2 own goals

Qualified teams for FIFA Women's World Cup

The following five teams from AFC qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

TeamQualified onPrevious appearances in FIFA Women's World Cup 1
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 9 April 2018 [20] 6 ( 1991 , 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007 , 2015)
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 12 April 2018 [21] 1 (2015)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 13 April 2018 [22] 6 (1995 2 , 1999 2 , 2003 2 , 2007, 2011, 2015)
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 13 April 2018 [22] 7 (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 , 2015)
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 16 April 2018 [23] 2 (2003, 2015)
1Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
2 Australia qualified as a member of the OFC in 1995, 1999 and 2003.

Broadcasting rights and sponsorships

Le Sports acquired the all-media broadcasting and signal production rights in China in 2015, [24] but they collapsed due to financial problems thus giving in all the rights they've acquired and transferred them to China Central Television and PP Sports in 2017. Tire manufacturer Continental announced they would be official sponsor. [25]

References

  1. "Jordan to host AFC Women's Asian Cup 2018 finals". AFC. 4 September 2016.
  2. "AFC Competitions Calendar 2018". AFC. 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018.
  3. "AFC WOMEN'S COMMITTEE MAKES KEY DECISIONS". AFC. 22 September 2017.
  4. "Circular #1565 - FIFA women's tournaments 2018-2019" (PDF). FIFA.com. 11 November 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2016.
  5. "Yokoyama the hero as Japan emerge champions". the-afc.com. 20 April 2018.
  6. "Teams learn AFC Women's Asian Cup Jordan 2018 qualifying opponents". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  7. "Teams set to find out path to AFC Women's Asian Cup Jordan 2018". AFC. 20 January 2017.
  8. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2017 (UPDATED)" (PDF). the-AFC.com. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  9. "Line-up complete for AFC Women's Asian Cup Jordan 2018". AFC. 13 April 2017.
  10. "Women's Ranking – 23 March 2018 (AFC)". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018.
  11. "Philippines qualify for the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup". AFC. 10 April 2017.
  12. "Contenders to learn AFC Women's Asian Cup fate at official draw". AFC. 8 December 2017.
  13. "AFC Women's Asian Cup draw pairs heavyweights Japan and Australia". AFC. 9 December 2017.
  14. "AFC Women's Asian Cup 2018 Official Draw". YouTube. 9 December 2017.
  15. 1 2 3 "AFC Women's Asian Cup 2018 Competition Regulations". AFC. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018.
  16. "Match Schedule". AFC Women's Asian Cup Jordan 2018. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  17. "Iwabuchi credits Japan team unity for MVP accolade". AFC. 20 April 2018.
  18. "Li Ying lands Top Scorer award". AFC. 20 April 2018.
  19. "Yokoyama the hero as Japan emerge champions". AFC. 20 April 2018.
  20. "China PR book ticket to France 2019". FIFA.com. 9 April 2018.
  21. "Thailand qualify for second successive Women's World Cup". FIFA.com. 12 April 2018.
  22. 1 2 "Australia and Japan qualify for France 2019". FIFA.com. 13 April 2018.
  23. "Korea Republic secure France 2019 qualification". FIFA.com. 16 April 2018.
  24. "Le Sports Acquires China Rights For AFC". 28 October 2015. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  25. "Continental becomes Official Sponsor of 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates". Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.

Further reading