1980 AFC Asian Cup

1980 AFC Asian Cup

Asian Cup Kuwait 1980 كأس آسيا 1980
Tournament details
Host country	Kuwait
Dates	15–30 September
Teams	10
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	Kuwait (1st title)
Runners-up	South Korea
Third place	Iran
Fourth place	North Korea
Tournament statistics
Matches played	24
Goals scored	76 (3.17 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Behtash Fariba Choi Soon-ho (7 goals each)

The 1980 AFC Asian Cup was the seventh edition of the Asian Nations Cup, the football championship of Asia (AFC).^[1] It was hosted by Kuwait between 15 and 30 September. The field of ten teams was split into two groups of five. Kuwait won their first championship, beating Korea Republic in the final 3–0. Midway through the tournament, Iraq invaded Iran. Kuwaiti television supported the attack and aired propaganda in favor of the Iraqis. This led to a very poor atmosphere in the Iranian camp, especially for Hassan Roshan whose brother was killed in the attacks and was one of the main reasons the team fell apart late in the tournament.

Qualification

•  Kuwait qualified automatically as host
•  Iran qualified automatically as defending champions

The other 8 qualifying teams were:

•  Bangladesh
•  China PR
•  Malaysia
•  North Korea
•  Qatar
•  South Korea
•  Syria
•  United Arab Emirates

Venues

Sabah Al-Salem Stadium
Kuwait City
Capacity: 22,000

Squads

For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 1980 AFC Asian Cup squads.

Group stage

Key to colours in group tables
	Group winners and runners-up advanced to the semi-finals

Group A

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 PR	4	1	1	2	9	5	+4	3
Bangladesh	4	0	0	4	2	17	−15	0

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Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
South Korea	4	3	1	0	10	2	+8	7
Kuwait	4	2	1	1	8	5	+3	5
Malaysia	4	1	2	1	5	5	0	4
Qatar	4	1	1	2	3	8	−5	3
United Arab Emirates	4	0	1	3	3	9	−6	1

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Knockout stage

	Semi-finals				Final
	28 September – Kuwait
	Iran	1
	Kuwait	2
					30 September – Kuwait
					Kuwait	3
					South Korea	0
					Third place
	28 September – Kuwait			29 September – Kuwait
	South Korea	2		Iran	3
	North Korea	1			North Korea	0

Semi-finals

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Third place play-off

Final

Goalscorers

7 goals

• Choi Soon-ho
• Behtash Fariba

5 goals

• Faisal Al-Dakhil

4 goals

• Jasem Yaqoub
• Xu Yonglai

3 goals

• Shen Xiangfu
• Hossein Faraki
• Chung Hae-won

2 goals

1 goal

Awards

Winners

1980 AFC Asian Cup Winners
Kuwait First title

All-Star Team

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Nasser Hejazi	Naeem Saad Soh Chin Aun Mahboub Juma'a Mehdi Dinvarzadeh	Abdolreza Barzegari Saad Al-Houti Lee Young-moo	Choi Soon-ho Faisal Al-Dakhil Jasem Yaqoub

Final positions

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Kuwait	6	4	1	1	13	6	+7	9
2	South Korea	6	4	1	1	12	6	+6	9
3	Iran	6	3	2	1	16	6	+10	8
4	North Korea	6	3	0	3	10	12	−2	6
Eliminated in the First Stage
5	Syria	4	2	1	1	3	2	+1	5
6	Malaysia	4	1	2	1	5	5	0	4
7	China PR	4	1	1	2	9	5	+4	3
8	Qatar	4	1	1	2	3	8	−5	3
9	United Arab Emirates	4	0	1	3	3	9	−6	1
10	Bangladesh	4	0	0	4	2	17	−15	0

References

External links

• South Korea International Matches
• Kuwait Football Association
• All-Star Team News Straits Times, 2 October 1980, Page 27
• Details at RSSSF