Squads
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North Korea has participated in five AFC Asian Cup and finished in fourth place, their best performance to date, during their maiden appearance in 1980.
However, unlike their Southern neighbor, North Korea often struggles to have the best performances, due to poor quality of the national team and their squad, as well as outside sanctions on the nation for its repressive nature. North Korea, after their 1980 appearance, would have to wait for 12 years for their next qualification, and they made further tournament appearances in the 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions. North Korea has not won an Asian Cup match since 1980, a drought of nearly 40 years.
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| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Iran | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 6 |
 North Korea | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 6 |
 Syria | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 |
 China | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 3 |
 Bangladesh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 17 | −15 | 0 |
North Korea  | 3–2 | Bangladesh |
|---|---|---|
Choi Jae-pil  44', 45'Kim Jong-man 90' | Salahuddin 60' (pen.) Chunnu 88' |
| North Korea | 2–1 | China |
|---|---|---|
| Kim Bok-man 20' | Li Fubao 7' |
| Iran | 3–2 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Alidousti 27' Danaeifard 57'Fariba 60' | Hwang Sang-hoi 68' Pak Jong-hun 90' |
South Korea  | 2–1 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Chung Hae-won 80', 89' | Pak Jong-hun 19' (pen.) |
| Iran | 3–0 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Fariba 49' Faraki 66', 76' |
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Japan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
 United Arab Emirates | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Iran | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| North Korea | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 |
| North Korea | 0–2 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Pious 30' Ghayeghran 80' |
| Japan | 1–1 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Nakayama 80' | Report | Kim Kwang-min 29' (pen.) |
| United Arab Emirates | 2–1 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| K. Saad 81' Bakhit 85' | Report | Kim Kwang-min 69' |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iran | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 |
 Iraq | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 |
| North Korea | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 |
| United Arab Emirates | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 |
| 11 January 2011 | ||
| North Korea | 0–0 | United Arab Emirates |
| 15 January 2011 | ||
| Iran | 1–0 | North Korea |
| 19 January 2011 | ||
| Iraq | 1–0 [1] | North Korea |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 |  Uzbekistan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Saudi Arabia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | North Korea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
| 10 January 2015 | |||
| Uzbekistan | 1–0 | North Korea | Stadium Australia, Sydney |
| 14 January 2015 | |||
| North Korea | 1–4 | Saudi Arabia | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 18 January 2015 | |||
| China | 2–1 | North Korea | Canberra Stadium, Canberra |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Qatar | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Lebanon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | North Korea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Lebanon | 4–1 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| AFC Asian Cup finals record | AFC Asian Cup qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | ||
 1956 | Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
| 1960 | ||||||||||||||||
 1964 | ||||||||||||||||
 1968 | ||||||||||||||||
 1972 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1976 | Withdrew after qualifying | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | |||||||||
 1980 | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
 1984 | Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
| 1988 | Did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||
| 1992 | Group stage | 8th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1996 | Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 7 | |||||||||
| 2004 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 15 | ||||||||||
   2007 | Banned | Banned | ||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Group stage | 12th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | Qualified as 2010 AFC Challenge Cup winners | |||||||
 2015 | Group stage | 14th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | Qualified as 2012 AFC Challenge Cup winners | |||||||
| 2019 | Group stage | 24th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 27 | 18 | ||
| 2023 | Withdrew [3] | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||
| Total | Fourth place | 5/18 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 40 | 39 | 19 | 10 | 10 | 63 | 48 | ||
The 1992 AFC Asian Cup was the 10th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan between 29 October and 8 November 1992. The host nation, Japan, defeated the defending champion Saudi Arabia in the final in Hiroshima.
The 1980 AFC Asian Cup was the 7th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Kuwait between 15 and 30 September 1980. The field of ten teams was split into two groups of five each. Kuwait won their first championship, beating South Korea in the final 3–0.
This is a list of official football games played by Iran national football team between 1980 and 1989.
This is a list of official football games played by Iran national football team between 1990 and 1999.
The qualification for the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship.
This article is about matches between North Korean and South Korean national football teams.
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification was a qualification process organized by the AFC to determine the participating teams for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. The 2015 AFC Asian Cup, hosted by Australia, featured 16 teams.
The 2014 AFC U-16 Championship qualification was the qualification round for the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship, which took place in Thailand. The draw for the qualifiers was held on 26 April 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Since the 1988 tournament, Japan has qualified for eight consecutive AFC Asian Cups from 1992 to 2019. Japan is also the most successful team in the tournament with 4 titles.
The Thailand's representative senior football team has participated in 8 editions of the AFC Asian Cup.
The Iran men's national football team has participated in 14 editions of the AFC Asian Cup, first appearing in the 1968 Asian Cup after automatically qualifying as hosts. Overall, Iran is one of the most successful teams in Asia, having won three titles from 1968 to 1976. However, after the 1976 Asian Cup, Iran's best performance is just third place.
The Malaysian team had participated in four editions of AFC Asian Cups in their history, the 1976, 1980, 2007 and the latest in 2023.
China PR has participated in the AFC Asian Cup since 1976.
Syria has been a major participant in the AFC Asian Cup with seven appearances in the tournament, in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2019, and 2023. At 2023 Asian Cup, Omar Khribin the only goal in a 1–0 victory over India, which granted Syria its first win in the competition since 2011, and first ever qualification to the knockout phase as one of the best third-placed teams.
Since the AFC Asian Cup was founded in 1956, Qatar has participated in 10 Asian Cups between 1980 and 2019. However, prior to the 2019 edition, Qatar only reached the quarter-finals twice: in 2000 as one of the two best third-place teams when the tournament had only 12 nations competing, and in 2011, when they finished second in Group A behind Uzbekistan.
Kuwait is one of the most successful teams in the AFC Asian Cup, having won the title once, during the 1980 edition which they were awarded as host, becoming the first Arab team to win the Asian Cup.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most successful teams in Asia, having won three AFC Asian Cup titles and is one of the stronger teams in the continent. With influential experiences, the Saudi team has been a major force in the Asian Cup.
The AFC second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, which also served as the second round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification, was played from 5 September 2019 to 15 June 2021.
The 1980 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match that took place on 30 September 1980, at the Sabah Al-Salem Stadium in Kuwait City, Kuwait, to determine the winner of the 1980 AFC Asian Cup. Kuwait defeated South Korea 3–0 with one goal from Al-Houti and two goals from Al-Dakhil, to win their first AFC Asian Cup.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the more successful teams in the Asian Cup qualifying for ten editions from 1980 to 2019. They have qualified for the semi-finals on four occasions, as well as the final in 1996, however they have never won an Asian Cup.