AFC Asian Cup qualification

Last updated

The AFC Asian Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup finals.

Contents

History

QualifiersDebutantsNumber of teams in the qualifiersNumber of teams in the final tournament
1956 Flag of Hong Kong 1955.svg  Hong Kong *, Flag of South Vietnam.svg  South Vietnam , Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea and Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 194
1960 Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Republic of China 144
1964 Flag of India.svg  India 44
1968 State Flag of Iran (1964).svg  Iran * and Flag of Burma (1948-1974).svg  Burma 145
1972 Flag of Iraq (1963-1991); Flag of Syria (1963-1972).svg  Iraq , Flag of the Khmer Republic.svg  Khmer Republic , Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait and Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand *136
1976 Flag of South Yemen.svg  South Yemen , Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China PR and Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 156
1980 Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh , Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar , Flag of Syria.svg  Syria and Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 1710
1984 Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore and Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 2110
1988 Flag of Japan.svg  Japan and Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 2010
1992 Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 208
1996 Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia and Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 3312
2000 Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon *4212
2004 Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan , Flag of Oman.svg  Oman and Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 4316
2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 2416
2011 2416
2015 Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 2016
2019 Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan , Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines and Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen 4524
2023 TBD4624

* : qualified as Host

Format

Over the past century, AFC Asian Cup has seen various changes in its qualification format as well as the number of teams participating.

1956

The 19 teams were divided in to three different zones based upon their location. In each zone, the teams played in a two legged Knockout format. The four winners of first round advanced to the next round. The two winners in the second round advanced to final which decided the team participating in the final tournament along with the hosts.

1960–1972

From 1960, the format had a slight change. The participating teams were again divided into zones based upon their location. The teams in their zones played against each other once, in a round robin format. The group topper of each zone advanced to the final tournament along with the hosts.

1972–1980

Starting from 1972, the format saw another change. Instead of zones, the teams were now divided into groups, with two teams instead of one advancing to the final tournament along with the hosts. Also the number of teams participating in the final tournament was increased to six and then to ten in 1980.

1984 & 1988

For a brief period, the teams were divided into groups not based on their location. This saw teams from all zones competing against each other in Asian Cup qualifiers for the first time since its inception. Two teams from each group qualified for the final tournament, along with the winners of previous edition who received a direct entry and as well as the hosts.

1992–2000

The format was reverted back to older one where teams were segregated based upon their location, but this time the number of participating nations increased. Winners of previous edition and the hosts were joined by the winner of each groups in qualifiers. The number of participants in the final tournament was increased to 12.

2004 & 2007

The tournament started from the preliminary round where the lower ranked teams played against each other, the winners of this round qualified for the qualifying round. In the qualifying round, top two teams from each group qualified for the final tournament. Participation of teams in the final tournament increased from 12 to 16.

2011 & 2015

The hosts, previous edition's winners, runner-up and third placed sides automatically qualified for the final tournament. AFC Challenge Cup winners(2) were also awarded a slot in the final tournament. The remaining ten slots were decided by the qualifying tournament in which the lower ranked teams played in preliminary rounds and the winners advanced to the qualifying round. In the qualifying round, the top two teams from each group received a berth in the final tournament.

2019–present

The proposal to merge the preliminary qualification rounds for FIFA World Cup qualifiers with those for the Asian Cup was ratified by the AFC Competitions Committee. [1]

The tournament was expanded to 24 teams from previous number of 16.

The qualification structure is as follows: [1] [2]

The play-off round represented a change from the initially announced qualification format – which saw the remaining fourth-placed teams and the four best group fifth-placed teams also advance to the third round. [1]

All-time table

Results of AFC Asian Cup qualification (excluded AFC Challenge Cup) as of the end of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

RankTeamPartPldWDLGFGADifPts
1Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 11614610517533+142148
2Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China PR 11523510714823+125115
3Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 1250365916423+141113
4Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 1048348613227+105110
5Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 10503461011636+80108
6Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 125931111711260+52104
7Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 740334313017+113103
8Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 146130102111982+37100
9Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 9523061612454+7096
10Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 1678242133105111–693
11Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq 84128858832+5692
12Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 105326131494494591
13Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 105025151011045+6590
14Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 1054276218055+2587
15Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 73627459217+7585
16Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 73625568530+5580
17Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 7452311117048+2280
18Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 166019152698101–372
19Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 1040197208671+1564
20Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 12511711237773+462
21Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 745179196162–160
22Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen 95916103369114–4558
23Flag of India.svg  India 1052157305998–3952
24Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 115814103459106–4752
25Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 42814594737+1047
26Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar 534145155273–2147
27Flag of Chinese Taipei (FIFA).svg  Chinese Taipei 9461432967109–4245
28Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 31813234211+3141
29Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 429115135836+2238
30Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan 427105123844–635
31Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan 423103103537–233
32Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 53283213387–5427
33Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 834742332101–6925
34Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 731712325102–7722
35Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 8404102827113–8622
36Flag of Afghanistan.svg  Afghanistan 53056192588–6321
37Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives 534522732107–7517
38Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 1037442922101–7916
39Flag of Macau.svg  Macau 62242162152–3114
40Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 330422421161–14014
41Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 2840499012
42Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 16321108+211
43Flag of Laos.svg  Laos 31732121361–4811
44Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia 373131210+210
45Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal 62824221291–7910
46Flag of Guam.svg  Guam 4162113586–817
47Flag of Brunei.svg  Brunei 5151212456–525
48Flag of South Yemen.svg  South Yemen 1301214–31
49Flag of East Timor.svg  Timor-Leste 2160016466–620

Teams that have not qualified for the finals tournament

Team 1956
Flag of Hong Kong 1955.svg
(4)
1960
Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg
(4)
1964
Flag of Israel.svg
(4)
1968
State Flag of Iran (1964).svg
(5)
1972
Flag of Thailand.svg
(6)
1976
State Flag of Iran (1964).svg
(6)
1980
Flag of Kuwait.svg
(8)
1984
Flag of Singapore.svg
(8)
1988
Flag of Qatar.svg
(8)
1992
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg
(8)
1996
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
(12)
2000
Flag of Lebanon.svg
(12)
2004
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg
(16)
2007
Flag of Indonesia.svg
Flag of Malaysia.svg
Flag of Thailand.svg
Flag of Vietnam.svg
(16)
2011
Flag of Qatar.svg
(16)
2015
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
(16)
2019
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
(24)
2023
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg
(24)
Attempts
Flag of Afghanistan.svg  Afghanistan ××××××××××7
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan ××××××××××××4
Flag of Brunei.svg  Brunei ××××××××××7
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam ××××××××××××5
Flag of Laos.svg  Laos ×××××××××××××4
Flag of Macau.svg  Macau ××××××××××8
Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives ×××××××××××6
Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia ××××××××××××5
Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal ×××××××××8
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan ××××13
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka ×××××××10
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan Part of Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union ××5
Flag of East Timor.svg  Timor-Leste Not an AFC memberPart of Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia ××××2

Notes:

Longest draughts

Last update was on 21 March 2021.

Active draughts

TeamLast appearanceAC MissedDraught years
Flag of Chinese Taipei (FIFA).svg  Chinese Taipei , Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar and Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 1968 1353
Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 1972 1249
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 1980 1041
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 1984 937
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia and Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 2007 314
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 2015 16

Previous draughts

TeamDraught periodAC MissedDraught years
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 1 19602007 1147
Flag of India.svg  India 19842011 627
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 19802007 727
Flag of India.svg  India 19641984 420
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 19721992 420
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 19922011 419
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 20002019 419
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq 19761992 316
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 19882004 316
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 19862011 315
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 20042019 315
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 19601972 212
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 19801992 212
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand and Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 20072019 212
1
Considering South Vietnam's results are attributed to unified Vietnam.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  2. "AFC Asian Cup 2019 Competition Regulations". AFC.
  3. "World Cup draw looms large in Asia". FIFA.com. 13 April 2015. Completing the tournament's qualifying contenders will be the next 16 highest ranked teams, with the remaining 12 sides battling it out in play-off matches to claim the last eight spots.
  4. "AFC Competitions Committee meeting". Asian Football Confederation. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  5. "Federacao Futebol Timor-Leste expelled from AFC Asian Cup 2023". The-AFC.com. AFC. 20 January 2017.