2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualification

The 2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualification was an international men's under-16 football competition which decides the participating teams of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship.

2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualification
Tournament details
Host countriesSaudi Arabia (Group A)
Tajikistan (Group B)
Iran (Group C)
Nepal (Group D)
Qatar (Group E)
Chinese Taipei (Group F)
Thailand (Group G)
Myanmar (Group H)
Mongolia (Group I)
Indonesia (Group J)
Dates16–29 September 2017[1]
Teams45 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)10 (in 10 host cities)
Tournament statistics
Matches played73
Goals scored391 (5.36 per match)
Attendance20,369 (279 per match)
Top scorer(s)Indonesia Sutan Zico (10 goals)
2016
2020

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

Draw

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Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 45 teams entered the competition.[3] The final tournament hosts Malaysia also entered in qualification despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament (they had not been confirmed as hosts at the time of the qualification draw).[4]

The draw was held on 21 April 2017, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[5] The 45 teams were drawn into ten groups: five groups of five teams and five groups of four teams. For the draw, teams were divided into two zones:[6]

  • West: 23 teams from West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia, to be drawn into five groups: three groups of five teams and two groups of four teams (Groups A–E).
  • East: 22 teams from ASEAN and East Asia, to be drawn into five groups: two groups of five teams and three groups of four teams (Groups F–J).

The teams were seeded in each zone according to their performance in the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship final tournament and qualification (overall ranking shown in parentheses; NR stands for non-ranked teams). The following restrictions were also applied:[7]

  • The seven teams which indicated their intention to serve as qualification group hosts prior to the draw were drawn into separate groups.
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Pot 5
West Zone
  1.   Iraq (1)
  2.   Iran (2) (H)
  3.   Oman (5)
  4.   United Arab Emirates (6) (W)
  5.   Uzbekistan (7)
  1.   Kyrgyzstan (10)
  2.   Saudi Arabia (11) (H)
  3.   Yemen (12)
  4.   India (13)
  5.   Tajikistan (17) (H)
  1.   Syria (21)
  2.   Jordan (22)
  3.   Afghanistan (23)
  4.   Qatar (25) (H)
  5.   Palestine (28)
  1.   Bangladesh (30)
  2.   Bahrain (31)
  3.   Lebanon (33)
  4.     Nepal (34) (H)
  5.   Turkmenistan (36) (W)
  1.   Maldives (37)
  2.   Bhutan (NR)
  3.   Sri Lanka (NR)
East Zone
  1.   North Korea (3)
  2.   Japan (4)
  3.   Vietnam (8)
  4.   South Korea (9)
  5.   Thailand (14) (H)
  1.   Malaysia (15) (Q)
  2.   Australia (16)
  3.   China (18)
  4.   Hong Kong (19)
  5.   Laos (20)
  1.   East Timor (24)
  2.   Myanmar (26) (H)*
  3.   Chinese Taipei (27) (H)*
  4.   Singapore (29)
  5.   Mongolia (32) (H)
  1.   Cambodia (35)
  2.   Philippines (38)
  3.   Macau (39)
  4.   Guam (40)
  5.   Northern Mariana Islands (41)
  1.   Brunei (NR)
  2.   Indonesia (NR)
Notes
  • Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
  • (H): Qualification group hosts (* Chinese Taipei and Myanmar chosen as group hosts after the draw, remaining group hosted at neutral venue)
  • (Q): Final tournament hosts, automatically qualified regardless of qualification results
  • (W): Withdrew after draw
Did not enter
West Zone
East Zone None

Player eligibility

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Players born on or after 1 January 2002 are eligible to compete in the tournament.[9]

Format

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In each group, teams play each other once at a centralised venue. The ten group winners and the five best runners-up qualify for the final tournament. If the final tournament hosts Malaysia win their group or are among the five best runners-up, the sixth best runner-up also qualifies for the final tournament.[5]

Tiebreakers

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Teams are 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 are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3):[9]

  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

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The matches were played between 16 and 29 September 2017.

Schedule
Matchday Groups A, C & F–G Groups B, D–E & H–J
Dates Matches Dates Matches
Groups B, D–E & I–J Group H
Matchday 1 16 September 2017 3 v 2, 5 v 4 20 September 2017 25 September 2017 1 v 4, 2 v 3
Matchday 2 18 September 2017 4 v 1, 5 v 3 22 September 2017 27 September 2017 4 v 2, 3 v 1
Matchday 3 20 September 2017 1 v 5, 2 v 4 24 September 2017 29 September 2017 1 v 2, 3 v 4
Matchday 4 22 September 2017 2 v 5, 3 v 1
Matchday 5 24 September 2017 4 v 3, 1 v 2

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Jordan 4 3 1 0 12 3 +9 10 Final tournament
2   Saudi Arabia (H) 4 3 0 1 15 2 +13 9
3   Uzbekistan 4 2 1 1 7 1 +6 7
4   Bahrain 4 1 0 3 8 7 +1 3
5   Sri Lanka 4 0 0 4 0 29 −29 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Sri Lanka  0–6  Bahrain
Report
Jordan  2–1  Saudi Arabia
Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman)

Bahrain  0–1  Uzbekistan
Report
Sri Lanka  0–7  Jordan
Report

Uzbekistan  6–0  Sri Lanka
Report
Saudi Arabia  3–0  Bahrain
Report

Jordan  0–0  Uzbekistan
Report
Saudi Arabia  10–0  Sri Lanka
Report

Bahrain  2–3  Jordan
Report
Attendance: 150
Referee: Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman)
Uzbekistan  0–1  Saudi Arabia
Report

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Tajikistan (H) 3 3 0 0 17 0 +17 9 Final tournament
2   Oman 3 2 0 1 14 1 +13 6
3   Syria 3 1 0 2 6 8 −2 3
4   Maldives 3 0 0 3 0 28 −28 0
5   Turkmenistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Oman  8–0  Maldives
Report
Tajikistan  2–0  Syria
Report

Syria  0–6  Oman
Report
Maldives  0–14  Tajikistan
Report

Syria  6–0  Maldives
Report
Oman  0–1  Tajikistan
Report

Group C

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  • All matches were held in Iran.
  • Times listed are UTC+4:30 on 16–20 September, UTC+3:30 on 22–24 September 2017.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Iran (H) 4 4 0 0 15 1 +14 12 Final tournament
2   Afghanistan 4 3 0 1 11 4 +7 9
3   Kyrgyzstan 4 1 1 2 3 8 −5 4
4   Lebanon 4 1 0 3 3 8 −5 3
5   Bhutan 4 0 1 3 1 12 −11 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Afghanistan  3–1  Kyrgyzstan
Report
Attendance: 120
Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)
Bhutan  0–2  Lebanon
Report
Attendance: 170
Referee: Takuto Okabe (Japan)

Bhutan  0–3  Afghanistan
Report
Attendance: 210
Lebanon  0–3  Iran
Report

Kyrgyzstan  1–0  Lebanon
Report
Attendance: 67
Iran  6–0  Bhutan
Report
Attendance: 350
Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)

Kyrgyzstan  1–1  Bhutan
Report
Attendance: 200
Afghanistan  1–2  Iran
Report
Attendance: 3,105
Referee: Takuto Okabe (Japan)

Lebanon  1–4  Afghanistan
Report
Iran  4–0  Kyrgyzstan
Report
Attendance: 300
Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Iraq 3 2 1 0 5 0 +5 7 Final tournament
2   India 3 1 2 0 5 2 +3 5
3   Palestine 3 1 0 2 2 8 −6 3
4     Nepal (H) 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
India  3–0  Palestine
Report
Iraq  1–0    Nepal
Report

Palestine  0–4  Iraq
Report
Nepal    2–2  India
Report

Iraq  0–0  India
Report
Palestine  2–1    Nepal
Report

Group E

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  • All matches were held in Qatar.
  • Times listed are UTC+3.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Yemen 2 2 0 0 8 1 +7 6 Final tournament
2   Bangladesh 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
3   Qatar (H) 2 0 0 2 1 8 −7 0
4   United Arab Emirates 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Yemen  6–1  Qatar
Report
Attendance: 306
Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

Bangladesh  0–2  Yemen
Report

Qatar  0–2  Bangladesh
Report
Attendance: 196
Referee: Timur Faizullin (Kyrgyzstan)

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   North Korea 4 4 0 0 28 0 +28 12 Final tournament
2   Hong Kong 4 2 0 2 8 4 +4 6[a]
3   Brunei 4 2 0 2 7 12 −5 6[a]
4   Chinese Taipei (H) 4 2 0 2 5 10 −5 6[a]
5   Macau 4 0 0 4 0 22 −22 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head results: Chinese Taipei 0–2 Hong Kong, Brunei 1–2 Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong 1–2 Brunei. Head-to-head standings:
    • Hong Kong: 3 pts, +1 GD
    • Brunei: 3 pts, 0 GD
    • Chinese Taipei: 3 pts, −1 GD
Brunei  4–0  Macau
Report
Chinese Taipei  0–2  Hong Kong
Report

Macau  0–10  North Korea
Report
Attendance: 60
Referee: Ali Reda (Lebanon)
Brunei  1–2  Chinese Taipei
Report

North Korea  9–0  Brunei
Report
Hong Kong  5–0  Macau
Report

Hong Kong  1–2  Brunei
Report
Chinese Taipei  0–7  North Korea
Report
Attendance: 300
Referee: Ali Reda (Lebanon)

North Korea  2–0  Hong Kong
Report
Macau  0–3  Chinese Taipei
Report

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Indonesia 4 4 0 0 25 1 +24 12 Final tournament
2   Thailand (H) 4 3 0 1 18 2 +16 9
3   East Timor 4 2 0 2 17 10 +7 6
4   Laos 4 1 0 3 13 12 +1 3
5   Northern Mariana Islands 4 0 0 4 1 49 −48 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
East Timor  5–2  Laos
Report
Indonesia  18–0  Northern Mariana Islands
Report

Indonesia  3–1  East Timor
  • Zico   61', 64', 89'
Report
Attendance: 76
Referee: Shaun Evans (Australia)
Northern Mariana Islands  0–10  Thailand
Report

Laos  10–0  Northern Mariana Islands
Report
Thailand  0–1  Indonesia
Report

Laos  0–3  Indonesia
Report
Attendance: 63
Referee: Shaun Evans (Australia)
East Timor  0–4  Thailand
Report
Attendance: 283
Referee: Bijan Heidari (Iran)

Northern Mariana Islands  1–11  East Timor
Report
Thailand  4–1  Laos
Report

Group H

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   South Korea 3 3 0 0 13 0 +13 9 Final tournament
2   China 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
3   Myanmar (H) 3 1 0 2 6 6 0 3
4   Philippines 3 0 0 3 0 15 −15 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
South Korea  8–0  Philippines
Report
Attendance: 116
China  2–1  Myanmar
Report

Philippines  0–2  China
Report
Attendance: 143
Myanmar  0–4  South Korea
Report
Attendance: 286
Referee: Payam Heidari (Iran)

South Korea  1–0  China
Report
Attendance: 84
Referee: Payam Heidari (Iran)
Myanmar  5–0  Philippines
Report
Attendance: 124

Group I

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Australia 3 3 0 0 18 2 +16 9 Final tournament
2   Vietnam 3 2 0 1 15 5 +10 6
3   Cambodia 3 1 0 2 5 12 −7 3
4   Mongolia (H) 3 0 0 3 3 22 −19 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Vietnam  5–2  Cambodia
Report
Australia  10–1  Mongolia
Report

Cambodia  0–5  Australia
Report
Mongolia  0–9  Vietnam
Report

Vietnam  1–3  Australia
Report
Mongolia  2–3  Cambodia
Report

Group J

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  • All matches were held in Indonesia (neutral venue host).
  • Times listed are UTC+7.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Japan 3 3 0 0 35 0 +35 9 Final tournament
2   Malaysia[a] 3 2 0 1 20 6 +14 6
3   Singapore 3 1 0 2 10 18 −8 3
4   Guam 3 0 0 3 2 43 −41 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ Malaysia, as final tournament hosts, automatically qualified regardless of qualification results.
Japan  20–0  Guam
Report
Malaysia  6–1  Singapore
Report

Guam  1–14  Malaysia
Report
Singapore  0–11  Japan
Report

Japan  4–0  Malaysia
Report
Singapore  9–1  Guam
Report

Ranking of second-placed teams

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Due to groups having different number of teams and the withdrawal of United Arab Emirates from Group E, the results against the fifth and fourth-placed teams in five and four-team groups are not considered for this ranking.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D   India 2 1 1 0 3 0 +3 4 Final tournament
2 B   Oman 2 1 0 1 6 1 +5 3
3 G   Thailand 2 1 0 1 4 1 +3 3
4 J   Malaysia 2 1 0 1 6 5 +1 3[a]
5 I   Vietnam 2 1 0 1 6 5 +1 3[a]
6 C   Afghanistan 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3
7 A   Saudi Arabia 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3[b]
7 E   Bangladesh 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3[b]
9 H   China 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3[b]
10 F   Hong Kong 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) disciplinary points; 5) drawing of lots.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Ranked by disciplinary points (Malaysia: –2 pts; Vietnam: –10 pts).
  2. ^ a b c Ranked by disciplinary points (Saudi Arabia: –4 pts; Bangladesh: –4 pts; China PR: –5 pts).

Qualified teams

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The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in AFC U-16 Championship1
  Malaysia Hosts 25 July 2017[2] 4 (2004, 2008, 2014, 2016)
  Jordan Group A winners 24 September 2017 2 (1990, 2010)
  Tajikistan Group B winners 24 September 2017 2 (2006, 2010)
  Iran Group C winners 22 September 2017 10 (1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
  Iraq Group D winners 24 September 2017 9 (1985, 1988, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2016)
  Yemen Group E winners 22 September 2017 5 (2002, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  North Korea Group F winners 24 September 2017 10 (1986, 1988, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
  Indonesia Group G winners 22 September 2017 5 (1986, 1988, 1990, 2008, 2010)
  South Korea Group H winners 29 September 2017 13 (1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016)
  Australia Group I winners 24 September 2017 5 (2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
  Japan Group J winners 24 September 2017 14 (1985, 1988, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
  India 1st best runners-up 24 September 2017 7 (1990, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  Oman 2nd best runners-up 24 September 2017 9 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
  Thailand 3rd best runners-up 24 September 2017 10 (1985, 1988, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2012, 2014, 2016)
  Vietnam 5th best runners-up 24 September 2017 6 (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2016)
  Afghanistan 6th best runners-up 29 September 2017 0 (debut)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

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10 goals

8 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

2 own goals

References

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  1. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2017" (PDF). AFC. 12 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b "AFC Competitions Committee's decisions published". AFC. 25 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Record number of youth teams to participate in qualifiers". AFC. 26 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Stage set for AFC U-16 Championship 2018 qualifying draw". AFC. 20 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Draw for AFC U-16 Championship 2018 qualifiers finalised". AFC. 21 April 2017.
  6. ^ "ДУШАНБЕ СТАЛ ХОЗЯИНОМ ОТБОРОЧНЫХ ТУРНИРОВ ЧЕМПИОНАТОВ АЗИИ-2018" (in Russian). Football Federation of Tajikistan. 26 February 2017.
  7. ^ "AFC U-16 Championship 2018 Qualifiers - Official Draw". YouTube. 21 April 2017.
  8. ^ "FIFA Congress drives football forward, first female secretary general appointed". FIFA. Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Regulations AFC U-16 Championship 2018". AFC.
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