The 2004 AFC Asian Cup was the 13th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held from 17 July to 7 August 2004 in China. The defending champions Japan defeated China in the final in Beijing.

2004 AFC Asian Cup
2004年亚洲杯足球赛
Tournament details
Host countryChina
Dates17 July – 7 August
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Japan (3rd title)
Runners-up China
Third place Iran
Fourth place Bahrain
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored96 (3 per match)
Attendance937,650 (29,302 per match)
Top scorer(s)Bahrain A'ala Hubail
Iran Ali Karimi
(5 goals each)
Best player(s)Japan Shunsuke Nakamura
Fair play award China
2000
2007

The tournament was marked by Saudi Arabia's unexpected failure to even make it out of the first round; a surprisingly good performance by Bahrain, which finished in fourth place; Jordan, which reached the quarterfinals in its first appearance and Indonesia, which gained their historical first Asian Cup win against Qatar. The final match between China and Japan was marked by post-match rioting by Chinese fans near the north gate of Beijing Workers' Stadium, in part due to controversial officiating and anti-Japanese sentiment resulting from historical tensions.[1]

Venues

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Beijing Chongqing Jinan Chengdu
Workers' Stadium Chongqing Olympic Sports Center Shandong Sports Center Chengdu Longquanyi Football Stadium
Capacity: 72,000 Capacity: 58,680 Capacity: 43,700 Capacity: 27,333
       

Qualification

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The lowest-ranked 20 teams were placed in 6 preliminary qualifying groups of 3 and one group of 2, with the group winners joining the remaining 21 teams in 7 groups of 4. The top two of each of these groups qualified for the finals in China.

Country Qualified as Date qualification was secured Previous appearances in tournament1, 2
  China Hosts 28 October 2000 7 (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000)
  Japan 2000 AFC Asian Cup winners 26 October 2000 4 (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000)
  Kuwait Qualifying round Group B winners 5 October 2003 7 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000)
  Saudi Arabia Qualifying round Group C winners 15 October 2003 5 (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000)
  Indonesia Qualifying round Group C runners-up 15 October 2003 2 (1996, 2000)
  Oman Qualifying round Group E winners 21 October 2003 0 (Debut)
  Iraq Qualifying round Group F winners 22 October 2003 4 (1972, 1976, 1996, 2000)
  Bahrain Qualifying round Group F runners-up 22 October 2003 1 (1988)
  South Korea Qualifying round Group E runners-up 24 October 2003 9 (1956, 1960, 1964, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000)
  Jordan Qualifying round Group D runners-up 18 November 2003 0 (Debut)
  United Arab Emirates Qualifying round Group G runners-up 18 November 2003 5 (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996)
  Uzbekistan Qualifying round Group A winners 19 November 2003 2 (1996, 2000)
  Qatar Qualifying round Group B runners-up 19 November 2003 5 (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000)
  Iran Qualifying round Group D winners 19 November 2003 9 (1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000)
  Thailand Qualifying round Group A runners-up 21 November 2003 4 (1972, 1992, 1996, 2000)
  Turkmenistan Qualifying round Group G winners 28 November 2003 0 (Debut)

Notes:

1 Bold indicates champion for that year
2 Italic indicates host

Seeds

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Pot A Pot B Pot C Pot D

  China
  Japan
  South Korea
  Saudi Arabia

  Iran
  Iraq
  Kuwait
  Qatar

  Indonesia
  Thailand
  United Arab Emirates
  Uzbekistan

  Bahrain
  Jordan
  Oman
  Turkmenistan

Squads

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Tournament summary

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This competition saw a huge number of surprises. The first surprise named Bahrain was in group A, which, despite being just its second tournament, held on China and fellow neighbor Qatar before beating Indonesia 3–1, with the Hubail brothers Mohamed and Ala'a instrumental in bringing Bahrain to the quarter-finals. Host China, after a shock draw to Bahrain, easily progressed to the next round after thrashing Indonesia 5–0 before Xu Yunlong scored the decisive goal in China's hard fought win over Qatar to process.

In group B, Jordan emerged as a second surprise, as the country just made its debut in the competition. Jordan surprised the whole tournament by two draws to the United Arab Emirates and, especially, a successful goalless draw to South Korea which had already finished in fourth place at the 2002 FIFA World Cup earlier, between that, Jordan shocked Kuwait with two late goals to seal a 2–0 victory, thus finishing second and progressed to the next round alongside South Korea, which, after being held by Jordan, decisively beat Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to progress.

The two other debutants were Turkmenistan and Oman in group C and D surprised by not finishing bottom in their group, though they failed to progress. Instead, it was the two experienced Saudi Arabia and Thailand which disappointed most of fans, finishing bottom after disastrous performances. In group C, Uzbekistan also surprised by topping the group with three straight 1–0 win while Japan and Iran were able to progress in group D after a final goalless draw and better result than Oman. Iraq was the other qualifier in group C, after beating both Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia only by one goal margin.

The quarter-finals saw Jordan caused significant problem for Japan, and Jordan was thought to have almost qualified for the semi-finals in the penalty shootout. However, four straight misses later cost Jordan's semi-final dream to end. Uzbekistan and Bahrain held on in a 2–2 draw and Bahrain prevailed after penalty shootout. Host China easily crushed Iraq 3–0, with Zheng Zhi scored two penalties to take Iraq home, while South Korea and Iran created the most phenomenon match in the tournament, an insane thriller where Iran prevailed 4–3 in what would be perceived as the greatest Asian Cup match in the history.

The first semi-final saw Iran and host China battling for the final, with both being held 1–1, despite Iran was down to ten men. China eventually won in penalty shootout. The other semi-final was another insane thriller between Bahrain and Japan, with the Japanese won after extra times thanked for a goal by Keiji Tamada in early minutes of the first half of extra times, thus sent Japan to the final against host China. Iran overcame Bahrain in a consolidating third place encounter, 4–2, to acquire bronze.

The final in Beijing saw China lose to Japan, with a controversial handball goal by Koji Nakata that sealed the game.[2] The win meant Japan had successfully defended their title they achieved four years ago. The outcome frustrated many Chinese supporters, who ended up rioting outside Workers' Stadium over referee's controversial decision allowing the handball goal of Koji Nakata.

Officials

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Referees
Assistant Referees
  •   Nathan Gibson
  •   Mahbubur Mahbub
  •   Liu Tiejun
  •   Yau Tak Lee
  •   Sankar Komaleeswaran
  •   Aries Soetomo
  •   Khalil Ibrahim Abbas
  •   Fathi Arabati
  •   Mohamed Saeed
  •   Ali Ahmed Al Qasimi
  •   Fayez Al Basha
  •   Ali Al Khalifi
  •   Chandrajith Marasinghe
  •   Begench Allaberdyev
  •   Taoufik Adjengui
  •   Trương Thế Toàn

First round

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All times are China standard time (UTC+8)

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   China (H) 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Bahrain 3 1 2 0 6 4 +2 5
3   Indonesia 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3
4   Qatar 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1
Source: RSSSF
(H) Hosts
China  2–2  Bahrain
Zheng Zhi   58' (pen.)
Li Jinyu   66'
Report M. Hubail   41'
Ali   89'
Qatar  1–2  Indonesia
Magid   83' Report Budi   26'
Ponaryo   48'
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)

Bahrain  1–1  Qatar
M. Hubail   90+1' Report Rizik   59' (pen.)
Attendance: 48,000
Referee: Toru Kamikawa (Japan)
Indonesia  0–5  China
Report Shao Jiayi   25', 66'
Hao Haidong   40'
Li Ming   51'
Li Yi   80'
Attendance: 48,000
Referee: Talaat Najm (Lebanon)

China  1–0  Qatar
Xu Yunlong   77' Report
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)
Bahrain  3–1  Indonesia
Ali   43'
A. Hubail   57'
Yousef   82'
Report Elie   75'
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Coffi Codjia (Benin)

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   South Korea 3 2 1 0 6 0 +6 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Jordan 3 1 2 0 2 0 +2 5
3   Kuwait 3 1 0 2 3 7 −4 3
4   United Arab Emirates 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1
Source: RSSSF
South Korea  0–0  Jordan
Report
Kuwait  3–1  United Arab Emirates
B. Abdullah   24'
Al-Mutawa   39' (pen.)
Saeed   45' (o.g.)
Report
Report
Rashid   47'

Jordan  2–0  Kuwait
Saad   90+1'
Al-Zboun   90+2'
Report
Attendance: 28,000
Referee: Lu Jun (China)
United Arab Emirates  0–2  South Korea
Report Lee Dong-gook   41'
Ahn Jung-hwan   90+1'

Jordan  0–0  United Arab Emirates
Report
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Talaat Najm (Lebanon)
South Korea  4–0  Kuwait
Lee Dong-gook   25', 41'
Cha Du-ri   45+1'
Ahn Jung-hwan   75'
Report

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Uzbekistan 3 3 0 0 3 0 +3 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Iraq 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
3   Turkmenistan 3 0 1 2 4 6 −2 1
4   Saudi Arabia 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1
Source: RSSSF
Saudi Arabia  2–2  Turkmenistan
Al-Qahtani   9' (pen.), 59' Report N. Bayramov   6'
Kulyýew   90+3'
Iraq  0–1  Uzbekistan
Report Qosimov   21'

Turkmenistan  2–3  Iraq
V. Bayramov   14'
Kulyýew   85'
Report H. M. Mohammed   12'
Farhan   80'
Munir   88'
Uzbekistan  1–0  Saudi Arabia
Geynrikh   13' Report

Saudi Arabia  1–2  Iraq
Al-Montashari   57' Report Akram   51'
Mahmoud   86'
Turkmenistan  0–1  Uzbekistan
Report Qosimov   58'

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Japan 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Iran 3 1 2 0 5 2 +3 5
3   Oman 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
4   Thailand 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 0
Source: RSSSF
Japan  1–0  Oman
Nakamura   33' Report
Iran  3–0  Thailand
Enayati   71'
Nekounam   80'
Daei   86' (pen.)
Report

Oman  2–2  Iran
Al-Hosni   31', 40' Report Karimi   61'
Nosrati   90+4'
Thailand  1–4  Japan
Sutee   12' Report Nakamura   21'
Nakazawa   57', 87'
Fukunishi   68'

Oman  2–0  Thailand
Rangsan   15' (o.g.)
Al-Hosni   49'
Report
Attendance: 13,000
Referee: Lu Jun (China)
Japan  0–0  Iran
Report

Knockout stage

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All times are China standard time (UTC+8)

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
30 July – Beijing
 
 
  China3
 
3 August – Beijing
 
  Iraq0
 
  China (pen.)1 (4)
 
31 July – Jinan
 
  Iran1 (3)
 
  South Korea3
 
7 August – Beijing
 
  Iran4
 
  China1
 
30 July – Chengdu
 
  Japan3
 
  Uzbekistan2 (3)
 
3 August – Jinan
 
  Bahrain (pen.)2 (4)
 
  Bahrain3
 
31 July – Chongqing
 
  Japan (a.e.t.)4 Third place
 
  Japan (pen.)1 (4)
 
6 August – Beijing
 
  Jordan1 (3)
 
  Iran4
 
 
  Bahrain2
 

Quarter-finals

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Uzbekistan  2–2 (a.e.t.)  Bahrain
Geynrikh   60'
Shishelov   86'
Report A. Hubail   71', 76'
Penalties
Fyodorov  
Djeperov  
Geynrikh  
Bikmaev  
Koshelev  
3–4   Ali
  Juma
  Baba
  Farhan
  A. Hubail

China  3–0  Iraq
Hao Haidong   8'
Zheng Zhi   81' (pen.), 90+2' (pen.)
Report
Attendance: 60,000


South Korea  3–4  Iran
Seol Ki-hyeon   16'
Lee Dong-gook   25'
Kim Nam-il   68'
Report Karimi   10', 20', 77'
Park Jin-seop   51' (o.g.)

Semi-finals

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Bahrain  3–4 (a.e.t./s.g.)  Japan
A. Hubail   7', 71'
Naser   85'
Report Nakata   48'
Tamada   55',   93'
Nakazawa   90'

China  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Iran
Shao Jiayi   18' Report Alavi   38'
Penalties
Zheng Zhi  
Zhao Junzhe  
Li Xiaopeng  
Sun Xiang  
Shao Jiayi  
4–3   Daei
  Mahdavikia
  Nekounam
  Mobali
  Golmohammadi
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Talaat Najm (Lebanon)

Third place playoff

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Iran  4–2  Bahrain
Nekounam   9'
Karimi   52'
Daei   80' (pen.), 90'
Report Yousef   48'
Farhan   57'

Final

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China  1–3  Japan
Li Ming   31' Report Fukunishi   22'
Nakata   65'
Tamada   90+1'

Statistics

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Goalscorers

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With five goals, A'ala Hubail and Ali Karimi are the top scorers in the tournament. In total, 96 goals were scored by 58 different players, with two of them credited as own goals.

5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals

Awards

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Most Valuable Player

Top Scorer

Fair-Play Award

Team of the Tournament[3][4]

Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards

  Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi

  Tsuneyasu Miyamoto
  Zheng Zhi
  Yuji Nakazawa

  Mehdi Mahdavikia
  Zhao Junzhe
  Shunsuke Nakamura
  Talal Yousef
  Shao Jiayi

  Ali Karimi
  A'ala Hubail

Marketing

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Official match ball

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The official match ball for the tournament was the Adidas Roteiro.[5]

Official mascot

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Official mascot was Bei Bei

Official song

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The AFC selected "宣言 (Declaration)", "Take Me To The Sky" (English Version Title) by Chinese singer Tiger Hu as the tournament's official song.[6][7]

Controversies

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Like other sports events, the Asian Cup 2004 was publicised as evidence of China's economic and athletic progress, being referred to by some as a prelude to the 2008 Summer Olympics. Many Chinese see the tournament as a success and take great pride in having showcased such an important sporting event in advance of the Olympic Games. However, the Japanese media and many other international observers have pointed out bad manners on the part of Chinese fans, and sparse attendance at the tournament, raising questions on China's ability to hold such sporting events. [citation needed]

There was also significant controversy over the refereeing of various matches in the tournament relating to the host China PR, specifically on China 3-0 Iraq and China 1-1 Iran. The match between China and Iraq featured a controversial penalty awarded to Zheng Zhi, while the two red cards awarded to Iran and the neglection of Zhang Yaokun's deliberate violent conduct during the second half of the match was also questioned by authorities such as the head coach of Islamic Republic of Iran.

Throughout the tournament, most Chinese fans in the stadia expressed anti-Japanese sentiments by drowning out the Japanese national anthem, displaying political banners and booing whenever Japan got the ball, regardless of the score or opponent. This was reported by the international media, and was aggravated when Koji Nakata apparently knocked in the ball with his right hand in the final.[8] The PRC government responded by calling for restraint and increasing police numbers to maintain order. The Japanese government also called on the PRC to ensure the safety of Japanese fans,[9] while specifically asking Japanese nationals or people of Japanese origin to not display any form of excessive pride. Despite the Chinese government's campaign, a riot started by Chinese fans broke out near the north gate of the Workers' Stadium, though reports differ as to the extent of the riot. As a result, some media groups have said that displays of "excessive Chinese nationalism during the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics have become a cause for concern for Chinese officials".

References

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  1. ^ Chinese riot after Japan victory
  2. ^ "The 'Hand of Koji'". telegraphindia.com. Telegraph India. 9 August 2004. Retrieved 3 April 2022. Replays showed the midfielder had used his right hand to force the ball over the line, infuriating the Chinese players, coaching staff and a raucous crowd of 65,000.
  3. ^ "Asian Cup 2004 All-Star team named". AFC Asian Cup. 7 August 2004. Archived from the original on 19 January 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. ^ "HISTORIA DE LA COPA ASIA" (in Spanish). ANOTANDO FÚTBOL. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Football Year 2004 the Most Successful for Adidas". Adidas. 16 December 2004. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  6. ^ 宣言—―2004亚洲杯歌曲合辑(单碟装CD
  7. ^ 胡彦斌唱出2004亚洲杯“宣言"
  8. ^ Bodeen, Christopher (7 August 2004). "Japan beats China to win Asian Cup again". USA Today. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  9. ^ Embassy of Japan in the People's Republic of China (5 August 2004). "(緊急)サッカー・アジアカップの決勝戦に関連したご注意 ((Urgency) Attention on the Final Game of Soccer Asian Cup)" (in Japanese). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
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