AFC Asian Cup
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| AFC Asian Cup | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football |
| Founded | 1956 |
| No. of teams | 28 |
| Continent | Asia (AFC) |
| Most recent champion(s) |
 Iraq |
The AFC Asian Cup is a football tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and automatically qualifies for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
The Asian Cup had been held once every four years from 1956 until 2004. However, since the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship were also scheduled in the same year as the Asian Cup (2004, 2008, 2012 etc.), the AFC decided to move their championship to a less crowded cycle. After 2004, the tournament was held in 2007, and will be held every four years henceforth from then.
The Asian cup has been dominated by the top teams in Asia over the years, typically from East Asia or West Asia. Teams such as Korea Republic, Iran, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have earned a spot for themselves in the final matches almost every year. Other teams which have achieved success at times include Australia, Kuwait, China, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain,and Iraq.
The 2007 tournament was held in the South East Asian nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. This was won by Iraq beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final on 29 July 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Results
[edit] Summaries
[edit] Most Successful national teams
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third-place | Fourth-place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Saudi Arabia |
3 (1984, 1988, 1996) | 3 (1992, 2000, 2007) | - | |
 Iran |
3 (1968*, 1972, 1976*) | - | 4 (1980, 1988, 1996, 2004) | 1 (1984) |
 Japan |
3 (1992*, 2000, 2004) | - | - | 1 (2007) |
 Korea Republic |
2 (1956, 1960*) | 3 (1972, 1980, 1988) | 3 (1964, 2000, 2007) | - |
 Kuwait |
1 (1980*) | 1 (1976) | 1 (1984) | 1 (1996) |
| Iraq |
1 (2007) | - | - | 1 (1976) |
 Israel # |
1 (1964*) | 2 (1956, 1960) | 1 (1968) | - |
 China PR |
- | 2 (1984, 2004*) | 2 (1976, 1992) | 2 (1988, 2000) |
 United Arab Emirates |
- | 1 (1996*) | - | 1 (1992) |
 India |
- | 1 (1964) | - | - |
 Myanmar |
- | 1 (1968) | - | - |
 Chinese Taipei |
- | - | 1 (1960) | 1 (1968) |
 Hong Kong |
- | - | 1 (1956*) | 1 (1964) |
 Thailand |
- | - | 1 (1972*) | - |
 South Vietnam |
- | - | - | 2 (1956,1960) |
 Bahrain |
- | - | - | 1 (2004) |
 Cambodia |
- | - | - | 1 (1972) |
 Korea DPR |
- | - | - | 1 (1980) |
- * = as hosts
- # = Israel was expelled from the AFC in the early 1970s
 the AFC asian cup hosted in Beirut, Lebanon |
[edit] Performances by host nations
| Year | Host nation | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 |  Qatar |
To be decided |
| 2007 |  Vietnam Indonesia Thailand Malaysia |
Quarter-final Group stage Group stage Group stage |
| 2004 | China PR |
Runner-up |
| 2000 |  Lebanon |
Group stage |
| 1996 | United Arab Emirates |
Runner-up |
| 1992 | Japan |
Champions |
| 1988 | Qatar |
Group stage |
| 1984 |  Singapore |
Group stage |
| 1980 | Kuwait |
Champions |
| 1976 |  Iran |
Champions |
| 1972 | Thailand |
Third place |
| 1968 | Iran |
Champions |
| 1964 | Israel |
Champions |
| 1960 | Korea Republic |
Champions |
| 1956 |  Hong Kong |
Third place |
[edit] Best performances by region
| Federation (Region) | Best performance |
|---|---|
| WAFF (West Asia) | 9 titles, won by Iran (3), Saudi Arabia (3), Kuwait (1), Iraq (1) , Israel (1) |
| EAFF (East Asia) | 5 titles, won by Japan (3), Korea Republic (2) |
| AFF (Southeast Asia) | Runner-up (Myanmar, 1968) |
| SAFF (Central and South Asia) | Runner-up (India, 1964) |
[edit] Awards
[edit] Most Valuable Players
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 1956 | No Award |
| 1960 | No Award |
| 1964 | No Award |
| 1968 | No Award |
| 1972 | Iran Ebrahim Ashtiani |
| 1976 | Iran Ali Parvin |
| 1980 | No Award |
| 1984 | Jia Xiuquan |
| 1988 | Kim Joo-Sung |
| 1992 | Kazuyoshi Miura |
| 1996 | Khodadad Azizi |
| 2000 | Hiroshi Nanami |
| 2004 | Shunsuke Nakamura |
| 2007 |  Younis Mahmoud |
[edit] Top scorers
| Year | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Yasser Al-Qahtani Naohiro Takahara Younis Mahmoud |
4 |
| 2004 | A'ala Hubail Ali Karimi |
5 |
| 2000 | Lee Dong-Gook |
6 |
| 1996 | Ali Daei |
8 |
| 1992 | Fahad Al-Bishi |
3 |
| 1988 | Lee Tae-Ho |
3 |
| 1984 | Jia Xiuquan Nasser Mohammadkhani Shahrokh Baiani |
3 |
| 1980 | Behtash Fariba |
7 |
| 1976 | Nasser Nouraei Gholam Hossein Mazloomi Fatehi Kamil |
3 |
| 1972 | Park Ee-Chon Hossein Kalani |
5 |
| 1968 | Homayoun Behzadi Giora Spiegel Moshe Romano |
4 |
| 1964 | Mordechai Spiegler Inder Singh |
2 |
| 1960 | Cho Yoon-Ok |
4 |
| 1956 | Nahum Stelmach |
4 |
[edit] Records and statistics
[edit] Overall top goalscorers
[edit] Most tournaments appeared
The tabulated below is the players who had appeared more than four times in the history of tournament.
| Player | App. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Mahdi Mahdavikia |
4 | 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007 |
| Li Ming |
4 | 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 |
| Adnan Al-Talyani |
4 | 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 |
[edit] AFC Asian Cup winning managers
| Year | Head coach | Champions |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 |  Jorvan Vieira |
Iraq |
| 2004 | Zico |
Japan |
| 2000 |  Philippe Troussier |
Japan |
| 1996 |  Nelo Vingada |
Saudi Arabia |
| 1992 |  Hans Ooft |
Japan |
| 1988 | Carlos Alberto Parreira |
Saudi Arabia |
| 1984 | Khalil Al-Zayani |
Saudi Arabia |
| 1980 | Carlos Alberto Parreira |
Kuwait |
| 1976 | Heshmat Mohajerani |
Iran |
| 1972 | Mohammad Ranjbar |
Iran |
| 1968 |  Zdravko Rajkov |
Iran |
| 1964 |  Gyula Mándi |
Israel |
| 1960 | Wui Hye-Deok |
Korea Republic |
| 1956 | Lee Yoo-Hyung |
Korea Republic |
[edit] Score
- Most goals scored in one match, one team: Iran 8–0 South Yemen in 1976
- Most goals scored in one match, both teams: Japan 8–1 Uzbekistan in 2000
[edit] Participating nations
Participating nations by number of final tournament appearances:
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