2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification

2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Tournament details
Dates	6 February 2013 – 5 March 2014
Teams	20 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	60
Goals scored	161 (2.68 per match)
Attendance	672,607 (11,210 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Reza Ghoochannejhad Ali Mabkhout (5 goals each)

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.

In the initial scheme, ten places were determined by qualification matches, while six places were reserved for the following:

• Hosts (Australia)
• Top three finishers in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup (Japan, Australia, and South Korea)
• Winners of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup (North Korea)
• Winners of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup (Palestine)

As the host nation Australia also finished as runners-up in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, the initial 6 automatic qualification spots were reduced to 5, with a total of 11 spots eventually determined by the qualification matches, in which 20 AFC members compete.^[1]

Qualified teams

Qualification status

  Country qualified for Asian Cup

  Country failed to qualify

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance
Australia	*Hosts !Hosts1	01 !5 January 2011	03 !3rd	2011	Runners-up (2011)
Japan	111 !2011 AFC Asian Cup winners	02 !25 January 2011	08 !8th	2011	Winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)
South Korea	112 !2011 AFC Asian Cup 3rd place	03 !28 January 2011	13 !13th	2011	Winners (1956, 1960)
North Korea	113 !2012 AFC Challenge Cup winners	04 !19 March 2012	04 !4th	2011	Fourth place (1980)
Bahrain	114 !Group D winners	05 !15 November 2013	05 !5th	2011	Fourth place (2004)
United Arab Emirates	115 !Group E winners	06 !15 November 2013	09 !9th	2011	Runners-up (1996)
Saudi Arabia	116 !Group C winners	07 !15 November 2013	09 !9th	2011	Winners (1984, 1988, 1996)
Oman	117 !Group A winners	08 !19 November 2013	03 !3rd	2007	Group Stage (2004, 2007)
Uzbekistan	118 !Group E runners-up	09 !19 November 2013	6 !6th	2011	Fourth place (2011)
Qatar	119 !Group D runners-up	10 !19 November 2013	9 !9th	2011	Quarter-finals (2000, 2011)
Iran	120 !Group B winners	11 !19 November 2013	13 !13th	2011	Winners (1968, 1972, 1976)
Kuwait	121 !Group B runners-up	12 !19 November 2013	10 !10th	2011	Winners (1980)
Jordan	122 !Group A runners-up	13 !4 February 2014	03 !3rd	2011	Quarter-finals (2004, 2011)
Iraq	123 !Group C runners-up	14 !5 March 2014	08 !8th	2011	Winners (2007)
China PR	124 !Best third-placed team	15 !5 March 2014	11 !11th	2011	Runners-up (1984, 2004)
Palestine	125 !2014 AFC Challenge Cup winners	16 !30 May 2014	01 !1st	N/A	N/A

¹ Australia also obtained 2011 AFC Asian Cup runner-up qualifying position

Qualification process

The preliminary draw was held in Melbourne on 9 October 2012, 18:00 UTC+11.^[2] The twenty teams involved in the qualifiers were drawn into five groups of four teams each, with each group containing one team from each of the following seeding pots. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The top two teams from each group and the best third-placed team from among all the groups qualified for the finals.^[3]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Uzbekistan  Qatar  Jordan  Iran  Iraq	China PR  Bahrain  Syria  United Arab Emirates  Kuwait	Saudi Arabia  Oman  Thailand  Yemen  Vietnam	Malaysia  Singapore  Indonesia  Lebanon  Hong Kong

The following teams did not enter the main qualifying draw, as categorized as "emerging countries" they compete separately. The teams were eligible to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup by winning either the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup or the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup.

^† Entrants to 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification
^‡ Entrants to 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification

Schedule

The following matchdays have been assigned by the AFC for 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification. As 15 and 19 November 2013 are also the dates of the inter-confederation playoffs for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,^[4] a number of alternative matchdays have been allocated.

Year	Matchday	Date
2013	Matchday 1	6 February
	Matchday 2	22 March
	Matchday 3	15 October
	Matchday 4	15 November
	Matchday 5	19 November
2014[5]	Alternative	11, 18, 25, 31 January 4 February
	Matchday 6	5 March

Groups

Key to colours in group tables
Group winners, runners-up, and best third-placed team qualified for the finals

Tiebreakers

In each group, the teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) and tie breakers are in following order:^[6]

1. Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned
2. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned
3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned (Away goals do not apply)
4. Goal difference in all the group matches
5. Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches
6. Kicks from the penalty mark if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play
7. Drawing of lots

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Oman 6 4 2 0 7 1 +6 14  Jordan 6 3 3 0 10 3 +7 12  Syria 6 1 1 4 7 7 0 4  Singapore 6 1 0 5 4 17 −13 3

Jordan  — 0–0 4–0 2–1 Oman  0–0 — 3–1 1–0 Singapore  1–3 0–2 — 2–1 Syria  1–1 0–1 4–0 —

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Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Iran 6 5 1 0 18 5 +13 16  Kuwait 6 2 3 1 10 7 +3 9  Lebanon 6 2 2 2 12 14 −2 8  Thailand 6 0 0 6 7 21 −14 0

Iran  — 3–2 5–0 2–1 Kuwait  1–1 — 0–0 3–1 Lebanon  1–4 1–1 — 5–2 Thailand  0–3 1–3 2–5 —

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Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Saudi Arabia 6 5 1 0 9 3 +6 16  Iraq 6 3 0 3 7 6 +1 9  China PR 6 2 2 2 5 6 −1 8  Indonesia 6 0 1 5 2 8 −6 1

China PR  — 1–0 1–0 0–0 Indonesia  1–1 — 0–2 1–2 Iraq  3–1 1–0 — 0–2 Saudi Arabia  2–1 1–0 2–1 —

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Group D

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Bahrain 6 4 2 0 7 1 +6 14  Qatar 6 4 1 1 13 2 +11 13  Malaysia 6 2 1 3 5 7 −2 7  Yemen 6 0 0 6 3 18 −15 0

Bahrain  — 1–0 1–0 2–0 Malaysia  1–1 — 0–1 2–1 Qatar  0–0 1–0 — 6–0 Yemen  0–2 1–2 1–4 —

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Group E

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  United Arab Emirates 6 5 1 0 18 3 +15 16  Uzbekistan 6 3 2 1 10 4 +6 11  Hong Kong 6 1 1 4 2 13 −11 4  Vietnam 6 1 0 5 5 15 −10 3

Hong Kong  — 0–4 0–2 1–0 United Arab Emirates  4–0 — 2–1 5–0 Uzbekistan  0–0 1–1 — 3–1 Vietnam  3–1 1–2 0–3 —

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Ranking of third-placed teams

To determine the best third-placed team, the following criteria were used:^[6]

1. Number of points obtained in the group matches
2. Goal difference in the group matches
3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches
4. Fewer points calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for each yellow card, 3 points for each red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for each direct red card, 4 points for each yellow card followed by a direct red card)
5. Drawing of lots

Group	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
C	China PR	6	2	2	2	5	6	−1	8
B	Lebanon	6	2	2	2	12	14	−2	8
D	Malaysia	6	2	1	3	5	7	−2	7
A	Syria	6	1	1	4	7	7	0	4
E	Hong Kong	6	1	1	4	2	13	−11	4

Goalscorers

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Own goals

Notes

1. 1 2 The Singapore v Oman and Syria v Jordan matches on Matchday 2 were rescheduled from the original date of 22 March 2013 on the request of the football associations of Oman and Jordan so that their respective national teams can prepare for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Fourth Round matches on 26 March 2013.^[7][8]
2. 1 2 3 Syria played their home matches outside of the country due to security concerns.^[9]
3. 1 2 The Oman v Jordan match on Matchday 4 and Singapore v Jordan match on Matchday 5 were rescheduled from the original dates of 15 and 19 November 2013 due to Jordan's qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification inter-confederation play-off matches on 14 and 20 November 2013.^[10]
4. 1 2 3 Iraq played their home matches outside of the country due to security concerns.
5. 1 2 3 Yemen played their home matches outside of the country due to security concerns.^[11]

References

External links

• AFC Asian Cup (Official website) (in English)
• AFC Asian Cup, the-AFC.com