2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification

The 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification was an international men's under-23 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship.

2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
Tournament details
Host countriesKyrgyzstan (Group A)
Saudi Arabia (Group B)
Qatar (Group C)
United Arab Emirates (Group D)
Palestine (Group E)
Myanmar (Group F)
North Korea (Group G)
Thailand (Group H)
Vietnam (Group I)
Cambodia (Group J)
Dates15–23 July 2017[1]
Teams40 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)10 (in 10 host cities)
Tournament statistics
Matches played57
Goals scored205 (3.6 per match)
Attendance277,285 (4,865 per match)
Top scorer(s) Ayman Hussein (6 goals)

A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including China PR who qualified automatically as hosts.[2]

Draw

Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 40 teams entered the competition. The final tournament hosts China PR decided to participate in qualification despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament.[3]

The draw was held on 17 March 2017, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[4] The 40 teams were drawn into ten groups of four teams. For the draw, teams were divided into two zones:

  • West Zone: 20 teams from West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia, to be drawn into five groups of four teams (Groups A–E).
  • East Zone: 20 teams from ASEAN and East Asia, to be drawn into five groups of four teams (Groups F–J).

The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship final tournament and qualification. The following restrictions were also applied:[5]

  • The nine teams which indicated their intention to serve as qualification group hosts prior to the draw were drawn into separate groups.
  • As Iran and Saudi Arabia refused to travel to each other's country, they would not be drawn into the same group.
  • As Iran, Syria and Lebanon had indicated they would not travel to Palestine, they would not be drawn into the group hosted by Palestine.
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
West Zone
East Zone
Notes
  • Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
  • (H): Qualification group hosts (* Cambodia chosen as qualification group hosts after the draw)
  • (Q): Final tournament hosts, automatically qualified regardless of qualification results
  • (W): Withdrew after draw
Did not enter
West Zone
East Zone
  •  Guam
  •  Northern Mariana Islands

Player eligibility

Players born on or after 1 January 1995 were eligible to compete in the tournament.[7]

Format

In each group, teams played each other once at a centralised venue. The ten group winners and the five best runners-up qualified for the final tournament. If the final tournament hosts China PR won their group or were among the five best runners-up, the sixth best runner-up also qualified for the final tournament.[4]

Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3):[7]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

Groups

The matches were played between 15–23 July 2017.

Schedule
Matchday Dates Matches
Group D Groups A–C, E–J Groups B–J Group A
Matchday 1 15 July 2017 19 July 2017 1 v 4, 2 v 3 3 v 1
Matchday 2 17 July 2017 21 July 2017 4 v 2, 3 v 1 2 v 3
Matchday 3 19 July 2017 23 July 2017 1 v 2, 3 v 4 1 v 2

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Oman 2 2 0 0 7 1 +6 6 Final tournament
2  Iran 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 3
3  Kyrgyzstan (H) 2 0 0 2 2 7 −5 0
4  Sri Lanka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Kyrgyzstan 1–2 Iran
  • Levchenko  11'
 Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Ahmad Yacoub Ibrahim (Jordan)
Oman 5–1 Kyrgyzstan
 Report
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Saoud Al-Athbah (Qatar)
Iran 0–2 Oman
Report
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Muhammad Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iraq 3 3 0 0 12 1 +11 9 Final tournament
2  Saudi Arabia (H) 3 2 0 1 11 3 +8 6
3  Bahrain 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4  Afghanistan 3 0 0 3 0 18 −18 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Iraq 8–0 Afghanistan
  • Rasan  13' (pen.)
  • Hussein  39' (pen.), 45', 65', 74', 85'
  • Mhawi  82'
  • Jaffal  86'
 Report
Attendance: 500
Referee: Sultan Al-Marzooqi (United Arab Emirates)
Saudi Arabia 3–1 Bahrain
 Report
Attendance: 500
Bahrain 1–2 Iraq
 Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)
Afghanistan 0–8 Saudi Arabia
Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Dmitry Mashentsev (Kyrgyzstan)
Bahrain 2–0 Afghanistan
  • Abdulrahman  14'
  • Madan  87' (pen.)
 Report
Attendance: 70
Referee: Sultan Al-Marzooqi (United Arab Emirates)
Iraq 2–0 Saudi Arabia
  • Al-Saedi  23'
  • Hussein  45+1'
 Report
Attendance: 500
Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)

Group C
  • All matches were held in Qatar.
  • Times listed were UTC+3.
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Qatar (H) 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Final tournament
2  Syria 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 5
3  India 3 1 0 2 3 4 −1 3
4  Turkmenistan 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Syria 2–0 India
  • Srour  64'
  • Arnaout  88'
 Report
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 853
Referee: Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)
Qatar 2–0 Turkmenistan
 Report
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 1,736
Turkmenistan 0–0 Syria
Report
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 780
Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini (Sri Lanka)
India 0–1 Qatar
Report
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 2,768
Referee: Chen Hsin-chuan (Chinese Taipei)
India 3–1 Turkmenistan
 Report
  • Hojovov  13'
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 312
Referee: Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)
Qatar 1–1 Syria
 Report
  • Muhtadi  60'
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 1,760

Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Uzbekistan 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6 9 Final tournament
2  United Arab Emirates (H) 3 2 0 1 6 2 +4 6
3  Lebanon 3 1 0 2 3 4 −1 3
4    Nepal 3 0 0 3 0 9 −9 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
United Arab Emirates 5–0   Nepal
 Report
Attendance: 5,423
Referee: Jameel Abdulhusin (Bahrain)
Uzbekistan 3–1 Lebanon
 Report
  • Hammoud  58'
Attendance: 50
Referee: Takuto Okabe (Japan)
Nepal   0–2 Uzbekistan
Report
Attendance: 1,825
Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)
Lebanon 0–1 United Arab Emirates
Report
Attendance: 570
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
United Arab Emirates 0–2 Uzbekistan
Report
Attendance: 1,250
Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)
Lebanon 2–0   Nepal
  • Kourani  29', 90'
 Report
Attendance: 1,850
Referee: Jameel Abdulhusin (Bahrain)

Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Palestine (H) 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 7 Final tournament
2  Jordan 3 2 0 1 11 3 +8 6
3  Tajikistan 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
4  Bangladesh 3 0 0 3 1 13 −12 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Jordan 7–0 Bangladesh
 Report
Attendance: 50
Referee: Sherzod Kasimov (Uzbekistan)
Tajikistan 2–2 Palestine
 Report
Attendance: 700
Referee: Mahmood Al-Majarafi (Oman)
Bangladesh 1–3 Tajikistan
  • Mia  33'
 Report
Attendance: 50
Palestine 3–2 Jordan
  • Abuhammad  38'
  • Yousef  66'
  • Wridat  76'
 Report
  • Abu Arab  19'
  • Al-Razem  31'
Attendance: 700
Jordan 2–0 Tajikistan
 Report
Attendance: 50
Referee: Sherzod Kasimov (Uzbekistan)
Palestine 3–0 Bangladesh
 Report
Attendance: 500
Referee: Mahmood Al-Majarafi (Oman)

Group F
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Australia 3 3 0 0 12 0 +12 9 Final tournament
2  Myanmar (H) 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3  Singapore 3 1 0 2 4 10 −6 3
4  Brunei 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Australia 2–0 Brunei
 Report
Attendance: 3,000
Myanmar 2–0 Singapore
 Report
Attendance: 13,200
Referee: Khamis Al-Kuwari (Qatar)
Singapore 0–7 Australia
Report
Attendance: 750
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)
Brunei 0–3 Myanmar
Report
Attendance: 10,260
Singapore 4–1 Brunei
 Report
Attendance: 9,270
Australia 3–0 Myanmar
 Report
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)

Group G
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  North Korea (H) 3 2 1 0 14 2 +12 7 Final tournament
2  Hong Kong 3 1 2 0 6 2 +4 5
3  Laos 3 1 1 1 4 8 −4 4
4  Chinese Taipei 3 0 0 3 2 14 −12 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Laos 3–1 Chinese Taipei
 Report
  • Jhou Cheng  3'
Attendance: 12,400
North Korea 1–1 Hong Kong
  • So Jong-hyok  63'
 Report
Attendance: 14,500
Hong Kong 1–1 Laos
 Report
  • Kettavong  73'
Attendance: 12,500
Referee: Nguyễn Hiền Triết (Vietnam)
Chinese Taipei 1–7 North Korea
  • Lee Hsiang-wei  27'
 Report
Attendance: 13,000
Chinese Taipei 0–4 Hong Kong
Report
Attendance: 13,000
North Korea 6–0 Laos
  • Kim Kuk-bom  5'
  • So Jong-hyok  14', 33'
  • Ri Hun  21'
  • Kim Yu-song  56'
  • Jon Se-gye  87'
 Report
Attendance: 14,000
Referee: Wang Di (China)

Group H
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Malaysia 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6 Final tournament
2  Thailand (H) 3 1 2 0 4 1 +3 5
3  Indonesia 3 1 1 1 7 3 +4 4
4  Mongolia 3 0 1 2 1 10 −9 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Indonesia 0–3 Malaysia
Report
Attendance: 360
Thailand 1–1 Mongolia
 Report
  • Munkh-Erdene  89' (pen.)
Attendance: 1,500
Mongolia 0–7 Indonesia
Report
Attendance: 296
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)
Malaysia 0–3 Thailand
Report
Attendance: 3,019
Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)
Malaysia 2–0 Mongolia
 Report
Attendance: 669
Thailand 0–0 Indonesia
Report
Attendance: 4,400

Group I
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 3 2 1 0 12 1 +11 7 Final tournament
2  Vietnam (H) 3 2 0 1 13 3 +10 6
3  Timor-Leste 3 1 1 1 7 5 +2 4
4  Macau 3 0 0 3 2 25 −23 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
South Korea 10–0 Macau
 Report
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)
Vietnam 4–0 Timor-Leste
 Report
Attendance: 6,010
Referee: Yu Ming-hsun (Chinese Taipei)
Timor-Leste 0–0 South Korea
Report
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Khurram Shahzad (Pakistan)
Macau 1–8 Vietnam
 Report
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Masoud Tufayelieh (Syria)
Timor-Leste 7–1 Macau
 Report
  • Lo Man Hin  64'
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)
South Korea 2–1 Vietnam
 Report
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Masoud Tufayelieh (Syria)

Group J
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  China PR[lower-alpha 1] 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Final tournament
2  Japan 3 2 0 1 11 2 +9 6
3  Cambodia (H) 3 1 1 1 1 2 −1 4
4  Philippines 3 0 0 3 0 11 −11 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Notes:
  1. China PR, as final tournament hosts, are automatically qualified regardless of qualification results.
Japan 8–0 Philippines
 Report
Attendance: 321
Referee: Payam Heidari (Iran)
China PR 0–0 Cambodia
Report
Attendance: 7,326
Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)
Philippines 0–2 China PR
Report
Attendance: 4,328
Referee: Timur Faizullin (Kyrgyzstan)
Cambodia 0–2 Japan
Report
Attendance: 15,825
Referee: Sukhbir Singh (Singapore)
Japan 1–2 China PR
 Report
Attendance: 6,372
Referee: Payam Heidari (Iran)
Cambodia 1–0 Philippines
 Report
Attendance: 17,282
Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)

Ranking of second-placed teams

Due to groups having different number of teams after the withdrawal of Sri Lanka from Group A, the results against the fourth-placed teams in four-team groups were not considered for this ranking.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 H  Thailand 2 1 1 0 3 0 +3 4 Final tournament
2 C  Syria 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4
3 I  Vietnam 2 1 0 1 5 2 +3 3
4 E  Jordan 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3
5 J  Japan 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 3
6 B  Saudi Arabia 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
7 A  Iran 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 3[lower-alpha 1]
8 F  Myanmar 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 3[lower-alpha 1]
9 D  United Arab Emirates 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1 3
10 G  Hong Kong 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) disciplinary points; 5) drawing of lots.
Notes:
  1. Ranked by disciplinary points (Iran: 0 pts; Myanmar: 6 pts).

Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in AFC U-23 Championship1
 China PRHosts25 November 2016[2]2 (2013, 2016)
 OmanGroup A winners23 July 20171 (2013)
 IraqGroup B winners23 July 20172 (2013, 2016)
 QatarGroup C winners23 July 20171 (2016)
 UzbekistanGroup D winners19 July 20172 (2013, 2016)
 PalestineGroup E winners23 July 20170 (debut)
 AustraliaGroup F winners23 July 20172 (2013, 2016)
 North KoreaGroup G winners23 July 20172 (2013, 2016)
 MalaysiaGroup H winners23 July 20170 (debut)
 South KoreaGroup I winners23 July 20172 (2013, 2016)
 Thailand1st best runners-up23 July 20171 (2016)
 Syria2nd best runners-up23 July 20172 (2013, 2016)
 Vietnam3rd best runners-up23 July 20171 (2016)
 Jordan4th best runners-up23 July 20172 (2013, 2016)
 Japan5th best runners-up23 July 20172 (2013, 2016)
 Saudi Arabia6th best runners-up23 July 20172 (2013, 2016)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

There were 205 goals scored in 57 matches, for an average of 3.6 goals per match.

6 goals

  • Ayman Hussein

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Notes
  1. The match between Thailand and Mongolia was postponed due to heavy rain from 19:00 to 20:10.

References
  1. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2017 (UPDATED) Updated as of 12 April 2016" (PDF). The-AFC.com. 12 April 2016.
  2. "AFC Competitions Committee recommends new AFC Cup format". AFC. 25 November 2016.
  3. "Stage Set For AFC U-23 Championship 2018 Qualifiers Draw". AFC. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  4. "AFC U-23 Championship 2018 hopefuls learn their opponents". AFC. 17 March 2017.
  5. "AFC U-23 CHINA 2018 QUALIFIERS - Official Draw". YouTube. 17 March 2017.
  6. "FIFA Congress drives football forward, first female secretary general appointed". FIFA. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  7. "Regulations AFC U-23 Championship 2018" (PDF). AFC.
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