2016 AFC U-23 Championship
The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the 2016 AFC U-23 Asian Cup) was the second edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. The tournament was held in Qatar between 12–30 January 2016.[1][2] A total of 16 teams compete in the tournament. The tournament was also renamed from the "AFC U-22 Championship" to the "AFC U-23 Championship".[1]
بطولة آسيا تحت 23 سنة لكرة القدم 2016 | |
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Tournament details | |
Host country | Qatar |
Dates | 12–30 January 2016 |
Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
Venue(s) | 4 (in 1 host city) |
Final positions | |
Champions | Japan (1st title) |
Runners-up | South Korea |
Third place | Iraq |
Fourth place | Qatar |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 32 |
Goals scored | 103 (3.22 per match) |
Attendance | 93,639 (2,926 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | Ahmed Alaa (6 goals) |
Best player(s) | Shoya Nakajima |
Fair play award | Japan |
For the first time, the AFC U-23 Championship acted as the AFC qualifiers for the Olympic football tournament, replacing the previous process of home-and-away Olympic qualifiers. The top three teams of the tournament qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Brazil as the AFC representatives.[3]
Japan won the tournament with a 3–2 final win over South Korea. Both finalists and third-placed Iraq qualified for the Olympics.[4]
Host selection
Qatar was one of the countries which came forward wishing to host the finals competition.[5] They were selected over the other bidding nations Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran.[1]
Qualification
The qualifiers draw was held on Thursday, 4 December 2014.[6] A total of 43 teams were drawn into ten groups, with the ten group winners and the five best runners-up qualifying for the final tournament, together with Qatar who qualified automatically as hosts.[7]
Qualification rounds were played between 23–31 March 2015,[8] except for Group B which was scheduled to be held in Lahore, Pakistan, but was postponed due to the Lahore church bombings.
Qualified teams
The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.[9]
Team | Qualified as | Appearance | Previous best performance |
---|---|---|---|
Qatar | Hosts | 1st | Debut |
Iraq | Group A winners | 2nd | Champions (2013) |
Jordan | Group B winners | 2nd | Third place (2013) |
Saudi Arabia | Group C winners | 2nd | Runners-up (2013) |
United Arab Emirates | Group D winners | 2nd | Quarter-finals (2013) |
Syria | Group E winners | 2nd | Quarter-finals (2013) |
Australia | Group F winners | 2nd | Quarter-finals (2013) |
North Korea | Group G winners | 2nd | Group stage (2013) |
South Korea | Group H winners | 2nd | Fourth place (2013) |
Japan | Group I winners | 2nd | Quarter-finals (2013) |
China PR | Group J winners | 2nd | Group stage (2013) |
Thailand | 1st best runners-up (Group G) | 1st | Debut |
Iran | 2nd best runners-up (Group C) | 2nd | Group stage (2013) |
Vietnam | 3rd best runners-up (Group I) | 1st | Debut |
Yemen | 4th best runners-up (Group D) | 2nd | Group stage (2013) |
Uzbekistan | 5th best runners-up (Group E) | 2nd | Group stage (2013) |
Venues
The tournament was hosted in four stadiums, all located in Doha.[10]
Doha | |
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Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium (Lekhwiya Stadium) |
Grand Hamad Stadium (Al-Arabi Stadium) |
Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 18,000 |
2016 AFC U-23 Championship (Qatar) | |
Doha | |
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (Al-Sadd Stadium) |
Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium (Qatar SC Stadium) |
Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 15,000 |
Draw
The draw for the final tournament was held on 12 September 2015, 12:00 AST (UTC+3), at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams.[10] The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous edition in 2013.[11]
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
---|---|---|---|
Qatar (hosts; position A1) |
Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship.
- Referees
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- Assistant referees
Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 1993 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team could register a maximum of 23 players (minimum three of whom must be goalkeepers).[12]
As the tournament was not held during the FIFA International Match Calendar, clubs were not obligated to release the players.[13]
Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.
- Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:[12]
- Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- If, after applying criteria 1 to 3, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 9 apply;
- Goal difference in all the group matches;
- Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
- Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
- Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
- Drawing of lots.
All times were local, AST (UTC+3).[14]
Group A
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Qatar (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | Knockout stage |
2 | Iran | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | |
3 | Syria | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | |
4 | China PR | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 0 |
Syria | 0–2 | Iran |
---|---|---|
Report | Motahari 64' Mi. Mohammadi 72' |
Iran | 3–2 | China PR |
---|---|---|
Motahari 38' Pahlavan 40' Torabi 48' |
Report | Chang Feiya 40' Liao Lisheng 70' (pen.) |
Group B
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 9 | Knockout stage |
2 | North Korea | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | |
3 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | |
4 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 2[lower-alpha 1] |
- Head-to-head: North Korea (0 GD, 5 GF), Saudi Arabia (0 GD, 4 GF), Thailand (0 GD, 3 GF)
Japan | 1–0 | North Korea |
---|---|---|
Ueda 5' | Report |
Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | Thailand |
---|---|---|
Al-Saiari 71' | Report | Pinyo 84' |
North Korea | 3–3 | Saudi Arabia |
---|---|---|
Kim Yong-il 27' Yun Il-gwang 52' Jang Kuk-chol 85' |
Report | Kanno 40' Al-Muwallad 62' Al-Ghamdi 69' |
North Korea | 2–2 | Thailand |
---|---|---|
Kim Yong-il 17' Thossawat 45' (o.g.) |
Report | Narubadin 30' Chanathip 78' |
Group C
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Korea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Knockout stage |
2 | Iraq | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | |
3 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | |
4 | Yemen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 |
South Korea | 2–1 | Uzbekistan |
---|---|---|
Moon Chang-jin 20' (pen.), 48' | Report | Khamdamov 57' |
Yemen | 0–5 | South Korea |
---|---|---|
Report | Kwon Chang-hoon 14', 31', 41' Ryu Seung-woo 72' Kim Seung-jun 76' |
Iraq | 1–1 | South Korea |
---|---|---|
Waleed 90+2' | Report | Kim Hyun 22' |
Uzbekistan | 3–1 | Yemen |
---|---|---|
Sokhibov 18' Sergeev 68' Masharipov 90+3' |
Report | A. Al-Sarori 82' |
Group D
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United Arab Emirates | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | Knockout stage |
2 | Jordan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 | |
3 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | |
4 | Vietnam | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 0 |
Jordan | 3–1 | Vietnam |
---|---|---|
Faisal 38', 72' Manasrah 68' |
Report | Đỗ Duy Mạnh 87' |
Australia | 0–1 | United Arab Emirates |
---|---|---|
Report | Gallifuoco 86' (o.g.) |
United Arab Emirates | 3–2 | Vietnam |
---|---|---|
Phạm Hoàng Lâm 65' (o.g.) M. Al-Akbari 74' Al-Attas 78' (pen.) |
Report | Nguyễn Công Phượng 24' (pen.) Nguyễn Tuấn Anh 68' |
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner if necessary.[12]
Bracket
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
22 January – Doha | ||||||||||
Qatar (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||
26 January – Doha | ||||||||||
North Korea | 1 | |||||||||
Qatar | 1 | |||||||||
23 January – Doha | ||||||||||
South Korea | 3 | |||||||||
South Korea | 1 | |||||||||
30 January – Doha | ||||||||||
Jordan | 0 | |||||||||
South Korea | 2 | |||||||||
22 January – Doha | ||||||||||
Japan | 3 | |||||||||
Japan (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||||||
26 January – Doha | ||||||||||
Iran | 0 | |||||||||
Japan | 2 | |||||||||
23 January – Doha | ||||||||||
Iraq | 1 | Third place | ||||||||
United Arab Emirates | 1 | |||||||||
29 January – Doha | ||||||||||
Iraq (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||||||
Qatar | 1 | |||||||||
Iraq (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
Qatar | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | North Korea |
---|---|---|
A. Afif 6' (pen.) A. Assad 92' |
Report | So Kyong-jin 90+1' |
South Korea | 1–0 | Jordan |
---|---|---|
Moon Chang-jin 23' | Report |
United Arab Emirates | 1–3 (a.e.t.) | Iraq |
---|---|---|
Alaa A. 75' (o.g.) | Report | Husni 77' Abdul-Raheem 103' Attwan 120+3' |
Semi-finals
Winners qualified for 2016 Summer Olympics.
Qatar | 1–3 | South Korea |
---|---|---|
A. Alaa 79' | Report | Ryu Seung-woo 48' Kwon Chang-hoon 89' Moon Chang-jin 90+5' |
Third place play-off
Winner qualified for 2016 Summer Olympics.
Final
South Korea | 2–3 | Japan |
---|---|---|
Kwon Chang-hoon 20' Jin Sung-wook 47' |
Report | Asano 67', 81' Yajima 68' |
Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:
Top Goalscorer[15] | Most Valuable Player[16] | Fair Play award[16] |
---|---|---|
Ahmed Alaa | Shoya Nakajima | Japan |
Statistics
Goalscorers
- 6 goals
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- James Donachie
- Jamie Maclaren
- Chang Feiya
- Ali Karimi
- Milad Mohammadi
- Ehsan Pahlavan
- Mehdi Torabi
- Amjad Waleed
- Ali Faez Atia
- Ayman Hussein
- Mahdi Kamel
- Humam Tariq
- Saad Natiq
- Riki Harakawa
- Yōsuke Ideguchi
- Ryota Oshima
- Musashi Suzuki
- Yuta Toyokawa
- Naomichi Ueda
- Omar Manasrah
- Jang Kuk-chol
- So Kyong-jin
- Yun Il-gwang
- Kim Hyun
- Kim Seung-jun
- Jin Seong-uk
- Akram Afif
- Almoez Ali
- Ali Assad
- Abdulrahman Al-Ghamdi
- Fahad Al-Muwallad
- Mohammed Al-Saiari
- Mohamed Kanno
- Abdullah Madu
- Yousef Kalfa
- Mahmoud Al Baher
- Pinyo Inpinit
- Narubadin Weerawatnodom
- Chanathip Songkrasin
- Mohamed Al-Akbari
- Ahmed Al Attas
- Timur Khakimov
- Jaloliddin Masharipov
- Igor Sergeev
- Javokhir Sokhibov
- Đỗ Duy Mạnh
- Nguyễn Công Phượng
- Nguyễn Tuấn Anh
- Ahmed Al-Sarori
- 1 own goal
- Giancarlo Gallifuoco (playing against United Arab Emirates)
- Alaa Ali Mhawi (playing against United Arab Emirates)
- Thossawat Limwannasathian (playing against North Korea)
- Phạm Hoàng Lâm (playing against United Arab Emirates)
- Source: The-AFC.com
Tournament team rankings
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 18 | Champions | |
South Korea | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 13 | Runners-up | |
Iraq | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 13 | Third place | |
4 | Qatar (H) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 12 | Fourth place |
5 | United Arab Emirates | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
6 | Iran | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | |
7 | Jordan | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | |
8 | North Korea | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 2 | |
9 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | Eliminated in group stage |
10 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | |
11 | Syria | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | |
12 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2 | |
13 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 2 | |
14 | China PR | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 0 | |
15 | Vietnam | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 0 | |
16 | Yemen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 |
Qualified teams for Olympics
The following three teams from AFC qualified for the Olympic football tournament.
Team | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament1 |
---|---|---|
Japan | 26 January 2016 | 9 (1936, 1956, 1964, 1968, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) |
South Korea | 26 January 2016 | 9 (1948, 1964, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) |
Iraq | 29 January 2016 | 4 (1980, 1984, 1988, 2004) |
- 1 Italic indicates host for that year. Statistics include all Olympic format (current Olympic under-23 format started in 1992).
Broadcasting rights
Controversies
Qatar, Syria and Yemen each had at least two players born on 1 January 1993, the cut off date for eligibility in this tournament.[24][25]
References
- "AFC Competitions Committee meeting". the-afc.com. 28 November 2014.
- "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016" (PDF). AFC.
- "QUALIFICATION SYSTEM – GAMES OF THE XXXI OLYMPIAD – RIO 2016 – Football" (PDF). Rio 2016 Official Website. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original (pdf) on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- "Iraq clinch Asia's final Rio spot". FIFA.com. 29 January 2016.
- "Qatar bids to host AFC U-22 championship". QFA. 12 September 2014.
- "AFC U-23 Championship 2016 Qualifiers draw". Asian Football Confederation. 3 December 2014.
- "Holders Iraq face stern test in AFC U-23 C'ship qualifiers". AFC. 4 December 2014.
- "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2015" (PDF). AFC.
- "Participants for AFC U-23 Championship Qatar 2016 confirmed". the-AFC.com. 21 May 2015.
- "AFC U23 Championship Qatar 2016 draw concluded in Doha". AFC. 12 September 2015.
- "Stage set for AFC U23 Championship Qatar 2016 draw". AFC. 11 September 2015.
- "Regulations AFC U-23 Championship 2016" (PDF). AFC.
- "Azmoun and Jahanbakhsh to miss Olympic qualifiers". persianfootball.com. 1 January 2016.
- "AFC U23 Championship Qatar 2016 Match Schedule" (PDF). AFC.
- "Ahmed Alaa lands U23 Top Scorer award". AFC. 31 January 2016.
- "Nakajima named AFC U23 Championship MVP". AFC. 31 January 2016.
- "لا تفوتوا متابعة بطولة آسيا تحت 23 سنة حصرياً على قنواتنا" (in Arabic). beIN Sports Arabia Facebook page. 9 January 2016.
- "كأس آسيا الأولمبية في الدوحة مشفرة" (in Arabic). Al Riyadh. 11 January 2016.
- "AFC U23 Championship 2016 Schedule,Teams,Venues,Live Broadcaster info". sportsmanch.com. 29 December 2015. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016.
- "AFC U23 CHAMPIONSHIP QATAR 2016". BBTV CH7. 12 January 2016.
- "AFC U23 Championship: Full Daily Schedule". One World Sports. 4 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016.
- "CHÍNH THỨC: VTV sở hữu bản quyền phát sóng VCK U23 châu Á 2016". vtv.vn (in Vietnamese). 31 December 2015.
- "VTV6 truyền hình trực tiếp các trận đấu của U23 Việt Nam tại VCK U23 châu Á". vtv.vn (in Vietnamese). 5 January 2016.
- "Final Registration Player List" (PDF). AFC. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- Mayeli Kohan: Qatar used overage players
External links
- AFC U-23 Championship, the-AFC.com