2019 AFC Asian Cup Group F

Group F of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup took place from 9 to 17 January 2019. ^[1] The group consisted of Japan, Uzbekistan, Oman and Turkmenistan. ^[2] The top two teams, Japan and Uzbekistan, along with third-placed Oman (as one of the four best third-placed teams), advanced to the round of 16. ^[3]

Japan was the only former champions and are also the team which won the most titles in the Asian Cup (1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011).

Teams

Draw position	Team	Zone	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance	FIFA Rankings
								April 2018 [nb 1]	December 2018
F1	Japan	EAFF	Second round group E winners	24 March 2016	9th	2015 (quarter-finals)	Winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)	60	50
F2	Uzbekistan	CAFA	Second round group H winners	29 March 2016	7th	2015 (quarter-finals)	Fourth place (2011)	88	95
F3	Oman	WAFF	Third Round Group D winners	10 October 2017	4th	2015 (group stage)	Group stage (2004, 2007, 2015)	87	82
F4	Turkmenistan	CAFA	Third Round Group E runners-up	14 November 2017	2nd	2004 (group stage)	Group stage (2004)	129	127

Notes

1. The rankings of April 2018 were used for seeding for the final draw.

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Japan	3	3	0	0	6	3	+3	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Uzbekistan	3	2	0	1	7	3	+4	6
3	Oman	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
4	Turkmenistan	3	0	0	3	3	10	−7	0

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

In the round of 16:

• The winners of Group F, Japan, advanced to play the runners-up of Group E, Saudi Arabia.
• The runners-up of Group F, Uzbekistan, advanced to play the runners-up of Group B, Australia.
• The third-placed team of Group F, Oman, advanced to play the winners of Group D, Iran (as one of the four best third-placed teams).

Matches

All times listed are GST (UTC+4).

Japan vs Turkmenistan

Japan's Yuto Nagatomo and Turkmenistan's Mihail Titow clash during the match

In the 12th minute, Japan had the first chance of the game, with Ritsu Dōan failing to beat Mammet Orazmuhammedow with a close-range header following a Takehiro Tomiyasu pass. Wahyt Orazsähedow forced Shūichi Gonda into a fine save and Mekan Saparow headed over from the resulting corner. Turkmenistan continued to press and took the lead on 27 minutes when captain Arslanmyrat Amanow unleashed a long-range effort into the net. Then, Yuya Osako's effort came narrowly wide, before Orazmuhammedow denied Tomiyasu with a fingertip save. As half-time approached, Turkmenistan came close to doubling their advantage. This time, Ahmet Ataýew stung Gonda's palms with an angled drive. After that, a header from Genki Haraguchi sailed inches wide off the target. In the 56th minute, Osako turned in the area and fired home to equalise the scoreline. Four minutes later Japan took the lead when Saparow's blunder allowed Yuto Nagatomo to find Osako, who scored to bag his second goal of the match. Shortly after, Takumi Minamino found Dōan, who spun away from his marker and fired into the bottom corner beyond Orazmuhammedow's dive. On 79 minutes, Ataýew converted from the spot after Gonda had up-ended substitute Altymyrat Annadurdyýew in the area. Japan held the scoreline to win the match. ^[4]

9 January 2019 (2019-01-09)

15:00

Japan	3–2	Turkmenistan
Osako 56', 60' Dōan 71'	Report	Amanow 26' Ataýew 79' (pen.)

Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 5,725

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

Japan

Turkmenistan

GK 12 Shūichi Gonda  78' RB 19 Hiroki Sakai  33' CB 22 Maya Yoshida (c) CB 20 Tomoaki Makino LB 5 Yuto Nagatomo CM 7 Gaku Shibasaki CM 16 Takehiro Tomiyasu RW 21 Ritsu Dōan AM 9 Takumi Minamino  73' LW 8 Genki Haraguchi CF 15 Yuya Osako Substitutions: FW 11 Koya Kitagawa  73' Manager: Hajime Moriyasu

GK 1 Mammet Orazmuhammedow RB 12 Serdar Annaorazow CB 4 Mekan Saparow CB 2 Zafar Babajanow LB 6 Gurbangeldi Batyrow CM 19 Ahmet Ataýew CM 21 Resul Hojaýew RW 7 Arslanmyrat Amanow (c)  69' AM 5 Wezirgeldi Ylýasow  90' LW 8 Ruslan Mingazow  85' CF 9 Wahyt Orazsähedow  59' Substitutions: FW 17 Altymyrat Annadurdyýew  59' FW 11 Myrat Ýagşyýew  69' FW 15 Mihail Titow  85' Manager: Ýazguly Hojageldyýew

Man of the Match: Yuya Osako (Japan) Assistant referees: Reza Sokhandan (Iran) Mohammadreza Mansouri (Iran) Fourth official: Mohamad Zainal Abidin (Malaysia) Additional assistant referees: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore) Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

Uzbekistan vs Oman

In the 14th minute, Oman came close to scoring through Ahmed Kano’s header which was saved by Uzbek goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov. In the 25th minute, Saad Al-Mukhaini’s delivery from the right flank sailed for Raed Ibrahim Saleh but the forward failed to connect. Uzbekistan found the back of the net through Odil Ahmedov’s free kick from 25 yards out, the Uzbekistan captain picking up his 18th international goal after he curled his effort past goalkeeper Faiz Al-Rushaidi. Nesterov blocked Mohammed Al-Musalami’s low drive as Uzbekistan took a 1–0 lead into the break. Oman came close to scoring when Ali Al-Busaidi sent a cross which found Al-Mukhaini who wasted the opportunity. Two minutes later, the defender was in goal-scoring range but saw his effort blocked. Oman finally beat Nesterov in the 72nd minute after substitute Muhsen Al-Ghassani, beat the offside trap to score past the Uzbekistan shot stopper. ^[5] Five minutes from time, Eldor Shomurodov burst into the box and tried a left-footed shot that Al-Rushaidi got a hand to but failed to keep out as he was beaten at his near post. ^[6] Uzbekistan, however, suffered a blow when Egor Krimets was sent off deep in stoppage time. ^[5]

9 January 2019 (2019-01-09)

17:30

Uzbekistan	2–1	Oman
Ahmedov 34' Shomurodov 85'	Report	Mu. Al-Ghassani 72'

Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah

Attendance: 9,424

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

Uzbekistan

Oman

GK 1 Ignatiy Nesterov  58' RB 2 Akmal Shorakhmedov CB 15 Egor Krimets  90+2' CB 5 Anzur Ismailov LB 13 Oleg Zoteev CM 7 Sardor Rashidov  59' CM 9 Odil Ahmedov (c) RW 19 Otabek Shukurov AM 22 Javokhir Sidikov LW 11 Jaloliddin Masharipov  29'  79' CF 10 Marat Bikmaev  83' Substitutions: MF 17 Dostonbek Khamdamov  59' MF 8 Ikromjon Alibaev  79' FW 14 Eldor Shomurodov  83' Manager: Héctor Cúper

GK 18 Faiz Al-Rushaidi RB 11 Saad Al-Mukhaini CB 13 Khalid Al-Braiki CB 2 Mohammed Al-Musalami LB 17 Ali Al-Busaidi CM 23 Harib Al-Saadi CM 12 Ahmed Kano (c) CM 10 Mohsin Al-Khaldi  90+1' RF 15 Jameel Al-Yahmadi  86' CF 7 Khalid Al-Hajri  67' LF 6 Raed Ibrahim Saleh Substitutions: FW 16 Muhsen Al-Ghassani  67' MF 20 Salaah Al-Yahyaei  86' FW 9 Mohammed Al-Ghassani  90+1' Manager: Pim Verbeek

Man of the Match: Otabek Shukurov (Uzbekistan) Assistant referees: Yoon Kwang-yeol (South Korea) Park Sang-jun (South Korea) Fourth official: Mohd Yusri Muhamad (Malaysia) Additional assistant referees: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea) Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

Oman vs Japan

Genki Haraguchi diverted Ritsu Dōan’s cross onto the bar from six yards inside the first two minutes. On 20 minutes, Salaah Al-Yahyaei found Muhsen Al-Ghassani, who rounded Shūichi Gonda but was unable to finish from a tight angle. Japan broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, Haraguchi picked himself up after being up-ended in the area by Raed Ibrahim Saleh to ram home the resulting spot-kick beyond Faiz Al-Rushaidi’s dive. With half-time approaching, Al-Yahyaei’s drive was diverted to safety by Yuto Nagatomo as Japan maintained their slender lead going into the break. In the second ha;f, Saad Al-Mukhaini’s effort at 70 minutes was gathered by Gonda. An acrobatic Saleh attempt from an Al-Mukhaini cross 10 minutes later and Al-Rushaidi’s last gasp save from substitute Junya Itō proved to be the final goalmouth action of the day. ^[7]

13 January 2019 (2019-01-13)

17:30

Oman	0–1	Japan
	Report	Haraguchi 28' (pen.)

Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 12,110

Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

Oman

Japan

GK 18 Faiz Al-Rushaidi RB 11 Saad Al-Mukhaini  90+2' CB 13 Khalid Al-Braiki CB 2 Mohammed Al-Musalami LB 17 Ali Al-Busaidi CM 23 Harib Al-Saadi CM 12 Ahmed Kano (c)  26' RW 15 Jameel Al-Yahmadi AM 20 Salaah Al-Yahyaei  67' LW 6 Raed Ibrahim Saleh  49' CF 16 Muhsen Al-Ghassani  77' Substitutions: FW 9 Mohammed Al-Ghassani  67' FW 7 Khalid Al-Hajri  77' Manager: Pim Verbeek

GK 12 Shūichi Gonda RB 19 Hiroki Sakai CB 22 Maya Yoshida (c) CB 16 Takehiro Tomiyasu LB 5 Yuto Nagatomo CM 6 Wataru Endō CM 7 Gaku Shibasaki RW 21 Ritsu Dōan  36'  84' AM 9 Takumi Minamino  67' LW 8 Genki Haraguchi CF 11 Koya Kitagawa  57' Substitutions: FW 13 Yoshinori Muto  57' FW 14 Junya Itō  84' Manager: Hajime Moriyasu

Man of the Match: Takumi Minamino (Japan) Assistant referees: [8] Mohd Yusri Muhamad (Malaysia) Mohamad Zainal Abidin (Malaysia) Fourth official: Anton Shchetinin (Australia) Additional assistant referees: Peter Green (Australia) Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

Turkmenistan vs Uzbekistan

The two teams' players after the match

The two Turkic neighbours have met each other in 2004 edition, where Uzbekistan prevailed with a 1–0 win.

Dostonbek Khamdamov’s header hit the ground before rebounding over the crossbar in the fifth minute. In the 16th minute, a string of passes ended with Javokhir Sidikov sliding the ball into an unguarded goalmouth. Eight minutes later, Otabek Shukurov sent a through pass down the middle to Eldor Shomurodov, whose effort made its way past goalkeeper Mammet Orazmuhammedow. Five minute before the break, Gurbangeldi Batyrow’s poor clearance allowed Jaloliddin Masharipov to let fly a half-volley to make it 3–0. Less than two minutes later, Masharipov turned provider with his pass finding Shomurodov, who scored his second of the night. Khamdamov's 44th minute strike was denied by the upright. Orazmuhammedow made a double save in the 55th minute to maintain the scoreline. ^[9]

13 January 2019 (2019-01-13)

20:00

Turkmenistan	0–4	Uzbekistan
	Report	Sidikov 17' Shomurodov 24', 42' Masharipov 40'

Rashid Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 4,354

Referee: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

GK 1 Mammet Orazmuhammedow RB 12 Serdar Annaorazow CB 4 Mekan Saparow CB 2 Zafar Babajanow LB 6 Gurbangeldi Batyrow CM 19 Ahmet Ataýew  44' CM 21 Resul Hojaýew RW 7 Arslanmyrat Amanow (c)  65' AM 5 Wezirgeldi Ylýasow LW 8 Ruslan Mingazow CF 9 Wahyt Orazsähedow  46' Substitutions: FW 20 Myrat Annaýew  44' FW 17 Altymyrat Annadurdyýew  46' FW 15 Mihail Titow  65' Manager: Ýazguly Hojageldyýew

GK 1 Ignatiy Nesterov RB 2 Akmal Shorakhmedov  46' CB 20 Islom Tukhtakhodjaev CB 5 Anzur Ismailov  71' LB 13 Oleg Zoteev CM 9 Odil Ahmedov (c)  76' CM 19 Otabek Shukurov RW 17 Dostonbek Khamdamov AM 22 Javokhir Sidikov  68' LW 11 Jaloliddin Masharipov CF 14 Eldor Shomurodov Substitutions: DF 6 Davron Khashimov  46' MF 8 Ikromjon Alibaev  68' MF 18 Fozil Musaev  76' Manager: Héctor Cúper

Man of the Match: Eldor Shomurodov (Uzbekistan) Assistant referees: [8] Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates) Hasan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates) Fourth official: Mohammed Al-Abakry (Saudi Arabia) Additional assistant referees: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates) Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

Oman vs Turkmenistan

In the sixth minute, Muhsen Al-Ghassani's left-footed shot from the centre of the box was saved by goalkeeper Mammet Orazmuhammedow. In the 20th minute, Ahmed Kano scored a free kick from 25 yards out. In the 31st minute, Myrat Ýagşyýew's header was tipped over by goalkeeper Faiz Al-Rushaidi. Turkmenistan equalised in the 41st minute with Altymyrat Annadurdyýew evading several Oman players before unleashing his shot from the left into the top left corner. Oman came close in the 55th and 56th minutes - through a header by Mohammed Al-Musalami and a shot by Khalid Al-Hajri respectively. Muhsen went for the spectacular in the 68th minute with an overhead kick which Orazmuhammedow saved and the goalkeeper stood tall again just seconds later to deny Kano on the left, with the ball seemingly headed for the top of the net. Orazmuhammedow, however, was finally beaten in the 84th minute with Muhsen sweeping the ball in after the goalkeeper had parried an initial effort. Three minutes into added time, Al-Musalami jumped high to head home Oman's third goal of the day to gain the win, and more importantly, guiding Oman to the round of sixteen for the first time ever in the country's football history, having failed in three previous editions. ^[10]

17 January 2019 (2019-01-17)

17:30

Oman	3–1	Turkmenistan
Al-Mahaijri 20' Mu. Al-Ghassani 84' Al-Musalami 90+3'	Report	Annadurdyýew 41'

Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 8,338

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

Oman	Turkmenistan

GK 18 Faiz Al-Rushaidi RB 11 Saad Al-Mukhaini CB 13 Khalid Al-Braiki  36'  74' CB 2 Mohammed Al-Musalami LB 17 Ali Al-Busaidi CM 23 Harib Al-Saadi  22' CM 12 Ahmed Kano (c) RW 6 Raed Ibrahim Saleh AM 7 Khalid Al-Hajri  86' LW 4 Mohamed Khasib  61' CF 16 Muhsen Al-Ghassani Substitutions: FW 15 Jameel Al-Yahmadi  61' FW 9 Mohammed Al-Ghassani  90+1'  74' MF 20 Salaah Al-Yahyaei  86' Manager: Pim Verbeek

GK 1 Mammet Orazmuhammedow (c) RB 12 Serdar Annaorazow CB 3 Güýçmyrat Annagulyýew CB 4 Mekan Saparow  79' LB 6 Gurbangeldi Batyrow CM 18 Serdar Geldiýew  54' CM 21 Resul Hojaýew  46' RW 8 Ruslan Mingazow  68' AM 5 Wezirgeldi Ylýasow LW 11 Myrat Ýagşyýew CF 17 Altymyrat Annadurdyýew  35'  83' Substitutions: MF 19 Ahmet Ataýew  72'  46' FW 7 Arslanmyrat Amanow  68' FW 15 Mihail Titow  83' Manager: Ýazguly Hojageldyýew

Man of the Match: Ahmed Kano (Oman) Assistant referees: [11] Yaser Tulefat (Bahrain) Mohamed Salman (Bahrain) Fourth official: Miguel Hernández (Mexico) Additional assistant referees: César Ramos (Mexico) Khamis Al-Kuwari (Qatar)

Japan vs Uzbekistan

Koya Kitagawa forced Ignatiy Nesterov into action 10 minutes before the break when his shot on the turn was tipped over by the keeper. With five minutes left in the half, Uzbekistan took the lead, Eldor Shomurodov latched on to Dostonbek Khamdamov’s through ball to outpace Tomoaki Makino before stepping inside Genta Miura and clipping the finish into the top corner with the outside of his right boot. The lead, though, was to last only three minutes as Sei Muroya turned on the left touchline before outstripping Farrukh Sayfiev and sending over a cross towards Yoshinori Muto, who rose to power his header home. Nesterov parried Junya Itō’s shot nine minutes after the restart while Muto went close seconds later, shooting just over the bar. Two minutes before the hour mark Tsukasa Shiotani's left-foot strike from distance curled away from Nesterov to put Japan in front. Davron Khashimov forced Daniel Schmidt to tip his long-range drive over the bar in the final minutes as Japan closed out the game to take their third win in a row and advance to the next round with a perfect record. ^[12]

17 January 2019 (2019-01-17)

17:30

Japan	2–1	Uzbekistan
Muto 43' Shiotani 58'	Report	Shomurodov 40'

Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 7,005

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

Japan

Uzbekistan

GK 23 Daniel Schmidt RB 3 Sei Muroya CB 20 Tomoaki Makino CB 2 Genta Miura LB 4 Sho Sasaki CM 17 Toshihiro Aoyama (c) CM 18 Tsukasa Shiotani  48' RW 14 Junya Itō AM 11 Koya Kitagawa  90+3' LW 10 Takashi Inui  81' CF 13 Yoshinori Muto  33'  85' Substitutions: FW 8 Genki Haraguchi  81' MF 6 Wataru Endō  85' DF 16 Takehiro Tomiyasu  90+3' Manager: Hajime Moriyasu

GK 1 Ignatiy Nesterov (c) RB 20 Islom Tukhtakhodjaev CB 6 Davron Khashimov CB 4 Farrukh Sayfiev  69' LB 15 Egor Krimets  72' CM 8 Ikromjon Alibaev CM 17 Dostonbek Khamdamov  65' RW 18 Fozil Musaev  76' AM 19 Otabek Shukurov LW 22 Javokhir Sidikov CF 14 Eldor Shomurodov  70' Substitutions: MF 16 Azizbek Turgunboev  65' FW 10 Marat Bikmaev  70' FW 7 Sardor Rashidov  76' Manager: Héctor Cúper

Man of the Match: Toshihiro Aoyama (Japan) Assistant referees: [11] Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates) Hasan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates) Fourth official: Huo Weiming (China PR) Additional assistant referees: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates) Ali Sabah (Iraq)

Discipline

Fair play points were used as tiebreakers if the head-to-head and overall records of teams were tied (and if a penalty shoot-out was not applicable as a tiebreaker). These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows: ^{[3] [13]}

• 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

Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.

Team	Match 1				Match 2				Match 3				Points
Japan	2				2				2				−6
Oman					3				3				−6
Turkmenistan	1								5				−6
Uzbekistan	2		1		1				2				−8

References

1. "Match Schedule – AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
2. "Final Draw sets the stage for thrilling contests in UAE 2019". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
3. "AFC Asian Cup 2019 Competition Regulations" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
4. "Japan 3–2 Turkmenistan". AFC. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
5. "Uzbekistan 2–1 Oman". AFC. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
6. Creek, Stephen (9 January 2019). "Late strike earns Cuper victory". Goal . Retrieved 9 January 2019.
7. "Oman 0–1 Japan". AFC. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
8. "MATCH OFFICIALS FOR JANUARY 13". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
9. "Turkmenistan 0–4 Uzbekistan". AFC. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
10. "Oman 3-1 Turkmenistan". AFC. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
11. "MATCH OFFICIALS FOR JANUARY 17". AFC. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
12. "Japan 2–1 Uzbekistan". AFC. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
13. "Competition Operations Manual 2019". AFC.

External links

• Official website