2011 AFC Asian Cup

The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th 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 Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011.[1][2] It was the fifteenth time the tournament has been held, and the second time it has been hosted by Qatar, the other being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup. Japan won the cup after a 1–0 win against Australia, and earned the right to compete in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil as the representative from AFC.[3][4]

2011 AFC Asian Cup
2011 كأس آسيا
Tournament details
Host countryQatar
Dates7–29 January
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)5 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Japan (4th title)
Runners-up Australia
Third place South Korea
Fourth place Uzbekistan
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored90 (2.81 per match)
Attendance405,361 (12,668 per match)
Top scorer(s) Koo Ja-cheol (5 goals)
Best player(s) Keisuke Honda
Fair play award South Korea
Results of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

A television viewing audience of 484 million in 80 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, North America and North Africa witnessed Japan defeat Australia 1–0 in the final.[5]

Host selection

Qatar, India and Iran all lodged interest in hosting the 2011 AFC Asian Cup,[6] while Australia also considered making a late bid.[7] Qatar officially submitted their bid on 19 June 2006,[8] while India withdrew their interest and Iran failed to submit proper documentation for their bid on time.[9]

Qatar was announced as host nation on 29 July 2007, during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia. Due to FIFA regulations stating that confederation events can be hosted either in January or July, and July being peak summer heat in the Middle East, 2011 Asian Cup took place in January of that year.[1][2]

Qualification
Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification

The teams finishing first, second and third in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, and the host nation for the 2011 competition, received automatic byes to the finals. They were joined by the top two finishers in each of five qualifying groups. The AFC Challenge Cup acted as a further qualification competition for eligible countries within the emerging and developing category of member associations. The winners of the AFC Challenge Cup competitions in 2008 and 2010 qualified automatically to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals. These two winners were India and North Korea. It was India's first play for the Asian Cup since 1984, and North Korea's first since 1992.

The final day of qualification was 3 March 2010.

List of qualified teams
Final qualification status
  Team qualified for Asian Cup
  Team failed to qualify
CountryQualified asDate qualification was securedPrevious appearances in tournament1, 2
 QatarHosts29 July 20077 (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2007)
 Iraq2007 AFC Asian Cup winner25 July 20076 (1972, 1976, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)
 Saudi Arabia2007 AFC Asian Cup runner-up25 July 20077 (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)
 South Korea2007 AFC Asian Cup third place28 July 200711 (1956, 1960, 1964, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)
 India2008 AFC Challenge Cup winner13 August 20082 (1964, 1984)
 UzbekistanGroup C runner-up18 November 20094 (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)
 SyriaGroup D winner18 November 20094 (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996)
 IranGroup E winner6 January 201011 (1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)
 China PRGroup D runner-up6 January 20109 (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)
 JapanGroup A winner6 January 20106 (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007)
 BahrainGroup A runner-up6 January 20103 (1988, 2004, 2007)
 United Arab EmiratesGroup C winner6 January 20107 (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2007)
 North Korea2010 AFC Challenge Cup winner27 February 20102 (1980, 1992)
 AustraliaGroup B winner3 March 20101 (2007)
 KuwaitGroup B runner-up3 March 20108 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004)
 JordanGroup E runner-up3 March 20101 (2004)

Notes:

1 Bold indicates champion for that year
2 Italic indicates host

Draw

The draw for the AFC Asian Cup 2011 was held on 23 April 2010 in Doha, Qatar. Qatar were seeded among the top group.[10][11]

Seeding

Seeding was announced on 22 April 2010. Qatar were automatically placed in Group A.[12]

Pot 1 (Host and Seeds) Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

 Qatar
 Iraq
 Saudi Arabia
 South Korea

 Japan
 Australia
 Iran
 Uzbekistan

 China PR
 United Arab Emirates
 Bahrain
 Jordan

 Syria
 Kuwait
 India
 North Korea

Venues

Members of the AFC Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup 2011 have agreed the use of five stadiums for the 2011 tournament.[13]

Doha Al Rayyan Doha
Khalifa International Stadium Ahmed bin Ali Stadium Thani bin Jassim Stadium
Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 21,282 Capacity: 21,175
Doha Doha
Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 12,946

Match ball

The Nike Total 90 Tracer was the official match ball of the tournament.[14]

Officials

Twelve referees and twenty four assistants were selected for the tournament:[15]

Number Referee Assistants
1 Ben Williams Benjamin Wilson Hakan Anaz
2 Yuichi Nishimura Toru Sagara Toshiyuki Nagi
3 Kim Dong-jin Jeong Hae-sang Jang Jun-mo
4 Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh Mu Yuxin Mohd Sabri Bin Mat Daud
5 Abdullah Al Hilali Bakhadyr Kochkarov Hamed Al Mayahi
6 Abdulrahman Abdou Mohammad Dharman Hassan Al Thawadi
7 Mohsen Torky Hassan Kamranifar Reza Sokhandan
8 Malik Abdul Bashir Jeffrey Goh Haja Maidin
9 Nawaf Shukralla Khaled Al Allan Mohammed Jawdat Nehlawi
10 Ali Al Badwawi Saleh Al Marzouqi Yaser Marad
11 Ravshan Irmatov Abdukhamidullo Rasulov Rafael Ilyasov
Standby Referees
Country Standby Referees
Iran Alireza Faghani
Uzbekistan Valentin Kovalenko
Qatar Abdullah Balideh

Squads
Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup squads

Each country's final squad of 23 players was submitted by 28 December 2010.[16]

Group stage

All times are Arabian Standard Time (AST) – UTC+3

Tie-breaking criteria

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:[16]

  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;
  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. Fewer score 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)
  8. Drawing of lots.

Group A
Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Uzbekistan 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Qatar (H) 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6
3  China PR 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
4  Kuwait 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Source: Asian Cup 2011
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Host.
7 January 2011
Qatar 0–2 Uzbekistan
8 January 2011
Kuwait 0–2 China PR
12 January 2011
Uzbekistan 2–1 Kuwait
China PR 0–2 Qatar
16 January 2011
Qatar 3–0 Kuwait
China PR 2–2 Uzbekistan

Group B
Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Japan 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Jordan 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7
3  Syria 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4  Saudi Arabia 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0
Source: Asian Cup 2011
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
9 January 2011
Japan 1–1 Jordan
Saudi Arabia 1–2 Syria
13 January 2011
Jordan 1–0 Saudi Arabia
Syria 1–2 Japan
17 January 2011
Saudi Arabia 0–5 Japan
Jordan 2–1 Syria

Group C
Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Australia 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  South Korea 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7
3  Bahrain 3 1 0 2 6 5 +1 3
4  India 3 0 0 3 3 13 −10 0
Source: Asian Cup 2011
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
10 January 2011
India 0–4 Australia
South Korea 2–1 Bahrain
14 January 2011
Australia 1–1 South Korea
Bahrain 5–2 India
18 January 2011
South Korea 4–1 India
Australia 1–0 Bahrain

Group D
Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iran 3 3 0 0 6 1 +5 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Iraq 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6
3  North Korea 3 0 1 2 0 2 −2 1
4  United Arab Emirates 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4 1
Source: Asian Cup 2011
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
11 January 2011
North Korea 0–0 United Arab Emirates
Iraq 1–2 Iran
15 January 2011
Iran 1–0 North Korea
United Arab Emirates 0–1 Iraq
19 January 2011
Iraq 1–0 North Korea
United Arab Emirates 0–3 Iran

Knockout stage
Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup knockout stage
 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
21 January – Doha
 
 
 Uzbekistan2
 
25 January – Doha
 
 Jordan1
 
 Uzbekistan0
 
22 January – Doha
 
 Australia6
 
 Australia (a.e.t.)1
 
29 January – Doha
 
 Iraq0
 
 Australia0
 
21 January – Doha
 
 Japan (a.e.t.)1
 
 Japan3
 
25 January – Doha
 
 Qatar2
 
 Japan (pen.)2 (3)
 
22 January – Doha
 
 South Korea2 (0) Third place
 
 Iran0
 
28 January – Doha
 
 South Korea (a.e.t.)1
 
 Uzbekistan2
 
 
 South Korea3
 

All times are Arabian Standard Time (AST) – UTC+3

Quarter-finals
Japan 3–2 Qatar
Kagawa  29', 71'
Inoha  89'		 Report Soria  13'
Fábio César  63'
Al-Gharafa Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 19,479
Uzbekistan 2–1 Jordan
Bakayev  47', 49' Report B. Bani Yaseen  58'
Attendance: 16,073
Referee: Malik Abdul Bashir (Singapore)
Australia 1–0 (a.e.t.) Iraq
Kewell  118' Report
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 7,889
Iran 0–1 (a.e.t.) South Korea
Report Yoon Bit-garam  105'
Qatar SC Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 7,111
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Semi-finals
Japan 2–2 (a.e.t.) South Korea
Maeda  36'
Hosogai  97'		 Report Ki Sung-yueng  23' (pen.)
Hwang Jae-won  120'
Penalties
K. Honda
Okazaki
Nagatomo
Konno 		3–0 Koo Ja-cheol
Lee Yong-rae
Hong Jeong-ho
Al-Gharafa Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 16,171
Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)
Uzbekistan 0–6 Australia
Report Kewell  5'
Ognenovski  35'
Carney  65'
Emerton  73'
Valeri  82'
Kruse  83'
Attendance: 24,826
Referee: Ali Al Badwawi (UAE)

Third place playoff
Uzbekistan 2–3 South Korea
Geynrikh  45' (pen.), 53' Report Koo Ja-cheol  18'
Ji Dong-won  28', 39'
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 8,199
Referee: Malik Abdul Bashir (Singapore)

Final
Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Final
Australia 0–1 (a.e.t.) Japan
Report Lee  109'
Attendance: 37,174
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Statistics

Goalscorers

With five goals, Koo Ja-cheol was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 90 goals were scored by 60 different players, with three of them credited as own goals.

5 goals:

4 goals:

3 goals:

2 goals:

1 goal:

1 own goal:

2 own goals:

Awards

The AFC selected the MVP, top goalscorer, fair play award and four quality players of the tournament.[17] They didn't officially announce the all-star team in this tournament.

Most Valuable Player

Top Goalscorer

Fair Play Award

Quality Player

Final standings
Pos. Team G Pld W D L Pts GF GA GD
1  Japan B 6 4 2 0 14 14 6 +8
2  Australia C 6 4 1 1 13 13 2 +11
3  South Korea C 6 4 2 0 14 13 7 +6
4  Uzbekistan A 6 3 1 2 10 10 13 -3
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5  Iran D 4 3 0 1 9 6 2 +4
6  Jordan B 4 2 1 1 7 5 4 +1
7  Qatar A 4 2 0 2 6 7 5 +2
8  Iraq D 4 2 0 2 6 3 3 0
Eliminated in group stage
9  China PR A 3 1 1 1 4 4 4 0
10  Syria B 3 1 0 2 3 4 5 -1
11  Bahrain C 3 1 0 2 3 6 5 +1
12  North Korea D 3 0 1 2 1 0 2 -2
13  United Arab Emirates D 3 0 1 2 1 0 4 -4
14  Kuwait A 3 0 0 3 0 1 7 -6
15  Saudi Arabia B 3 0 0 3 0 1 8 -7
16  India C 3 0 0 3 0 3 13 -10

Theme song

For marketing of the event, the organisers opted for the slogan "Yalla Asia" with a song sung by international artists Jay Sean and Karl Wolf, featuring Radhika Vekaria. Yalla Asia was composed and written by Radhika Vekaria, Max Herman and Zoulikha El Fassi. Max Herman produced the record for Zoul Projects 2011.

Concerns and controversies

The AFC Asian Cup 2011 was not without controversy as concerns were risen about the extremely low crowds at most Asian Cup games not featuring the host nation Qatar. The average attendance was just 12,006, much lower than the previous AFC Asian Cup tournaments. North Korea and the United Arab Emirates both had the lowest attendance numbers with approximately 3,000 and 6,000 attendances respectively.[18] The final match between Japan and Australia saw as many as 3,000 to 10,000 fans with valid tickets denied entry to the stadium[19] which then allegedly sparked small skirmishes among fans, "It was just incredibly badly handled. There were kids and families, not causing any problem, being confronted by riot police and being told they weren't getting in," according to Andy Richardson, Al Jazeera's sports correspondent.[20] The AFC stated that the gates were closed early for security concerns and organisers did not anticipate an influx of Japanese and Australian fans. The organising committee has offered to refund all tickets not redeemed at the match.[21]

After staging the 2006 Asian Games,[22] this Asian Cup was being closely watched as an indicator to see how Qatar copes with hosting a major international football tournament[23] in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

References
  1. "Qatar confirmed as cup host". Fox Sports. 29 July 2007. Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
  2. "Qatar to host AFC Asian Cup in 2011". Asian Football Confederation. 29 July 2007. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
  3. "Japan down Aussies to make history". FIFA.com. 29 January 2011. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  4. "Australia 0 – 1 Japan". ESPN Soccernet. 29 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  5. "Asian Cup final 'rematch' kick-off time set". Asian Football Confederation. 23 April 2012. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  6. "Nations make Asian Cup bid". Fox Sports. 14 February 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  7. "Chances to host 2011 Asian Cup fading". Sydney Morning Herald. 13 February 2007. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2007.
  8. Qatar formally submits Asian Cup 2011 bid AFC Asian Cup Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  9. India withdraw 2011 AFC Asian Cup interest AFC Asian Cup Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Unity the theme at AFC Executive Committee meeting". AFC. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  11. "AFC Asian Cup 2011 Finals draw on April 23". AFC. 23 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  12. "AFC Asian Cup 2011 final draw mechanics". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 22 April 2010. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014.
  13. "AFC Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup 2011". AFC. 14 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  14. "The Tracer's excitement for AC 2011". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  15. "2011 AFC Asian Cup referees". Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018.
  16. "AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2011.
  17. "AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 Technical Report". The-AFC.com. AFC. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  18. "AFC Asian Cup Statistics – ESPN FC". go.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  19. "Asian Cup ticket-holders denied entry to finale". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  20. "Five things we've learned from Qatar's Asian Cup". CNN. 3 February 2011. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  21. http://www.the-afc.com/en/afc-asian-cup-news/33102-afc-statement-afc-asian-cup-qatar-2011-final-match-tickets-and-refund%5B%5D
  22. "AFP: Qatar puts Middle East football on map". google.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  23. "Qatar: From obscure desert kingdom to World Cup host". cnn.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
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