Syria at the AFC Asian Cup

Syria has been a major participant in the AFC Asian Cup with seven appearances in the tournament, in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2019, and 2023. At 2023 Asian Cup, Omar Khribin scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over India, which granted Syria its first win in the competition since 2011, and first ever qualification to the knockout phase as one of the best third-placed teams.[1]

Syria during the 2019 Asian Cup match against Palestine.

Until 2024, Syria have never qualified past the group stage in the Asian Cup, with them narrowly missing out on the knock-out stage in 1980 and knock-out stage in 1996 due to 1 missed point; both eliminations involved China national football team.

AFC Asian Cup record

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1980 Kuwait

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Group A

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Iran 4 2 2 0 12 4 +8 6
  North Korea 4 3 0 1 9 7 +2 6
  Syria 4 2 1 1 3 2 +1 5
  China 4 1 1 2 9 5 +4 3
  Bangladesh 4 0 0 4 2 17 −15 0
Iran  0–0  Syria

Bangladesh  0–1  Syria
Keshek   7'

Syria  1–0  China
Keshek   86'

North Korea  2–1  Syria
Suleiman  

1984 Singapore

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Group A

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Saudi Arabia 4 2 2 0 4 2 +2 6
  Kuwait 4 2 1 1 4 2 +2 5
  Qatar 4 1 2 1 3 3 0 4
  Syria 4 1 1 2 3 5 −2 3
  South Korea 4 0 2 2 1 3 −2 2
Qatar  1–1  Syria
Khalfan   7' Anber   47' (o.g.)

Syria  0–1  Saudi Arabia
Khalifa   66'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Shizuo Takada (Japan)

Syria  1–0  South Korea
Hassan   12'
Attendance: 10,000

Kuwait  3–1  Syria
Mahrous   66' (o.g.)
Al-Dakhil   77'
A. Al-Buloushi   79'
Abu Al-Sel   5'

1988 Qatar

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Group B

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Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
  Saudi Arabia 6 4 2 2 0 4 1 +3
  China 5 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3
  Syria 4 4 2 0 2 2 5 −3
  Kuwait 3 4 0 3 1 2 3 −1
  Bahrain 2 4 0 2 2 1 3 −2
Syria  0–2  Saudi Arabia
Report Al-Mutlaq   20'
Al-Suwaiyed   82'

China  3–0  Syria
Gao Sheng   13'
Xie Yuxin   14', 19'
Report

Syria  1–0  Kuwait
Al-Nasser   63' Report

Bahrain  0–1  Syria
Report Abu Al-Sel   72' (pen.)

1996 United Arab Emirates

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Group C

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Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
  Japan 9 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6
  China 3 3 1 0 2 3 3 0
  Syria 3 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3
  Uzbekistan 3 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3
Japan  2–1  Syria
Abbas   85' (o.g.)
Takagi   88'
Report Jokhadar   8'
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Mohd Nazri Abdullah (Malaysia)

Syria  0–3  China
Report Ma Mingyu   35'
Gao Feng   49'
Li Bing   73'

Uzbekistan  1–2  Syria
Lebedev   53' (pen.) Report Jokhadar   48'
Dib   74'

2011 Qatar

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Group B

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Japan 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7
  Jordan 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7
  Syria 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
  Saudi Arabia 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0
9 January 2011
Saudi Arabia   1–2   Syria[2]
13 January 2011
Syria   1–2   Japan[3]
17 January 2011
Jordan   2–1   Syria

2019 United Arab Emirates

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Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Jordan 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Australia 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6
3   Palestine 3 0 2 1 0 3 −3 2
4   Syria 3 0 1 2 2 5 −3 1
Source: AFC
Syria  0–0  Palestine
Report

Jordan  2–0  Syria
Report

Australia  3–2  Syria
Report

2023 Qatar

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Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Australia 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Uzbekistan 3 1 2 0 4 1 +3 5
3   Syria 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
4   India 3 0 0 3 0 6 −6 0
Source: AFC
Uzbekistan  0–0  Syria
Report

Syria  0–1  Australia
Report

Syria  1–0  India
Report
Attendance: 42,787
Ranking of third-placed teams
Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 E   Jordan 3 1 1 1 6 3 +3 4 Advance to knockout stage
2 C   Palestine 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
3 B   Syria 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
4 D   Indonesia 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 3
5 F   Oman 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
6 A   China 3 0 2 1 0 1 −1 2
Source: AFC

Knockout stage

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Round of 16
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Iran  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Syria
Report
Penalties
5–3

Overall record

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AFC Asian Cup record AFC Asian Cup qualification record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
  1956 Did not enter Declined participation
  1960
  1964
  1968
  1972 Did not qualify 3 0 2 1 4 5
  1976 Withdrew Withdrew
  1980 Round 1 4 2 1 1 3 2 3 2 1 0 2 0
  1984 Round 1 4 1 1 2 3 5 5 3 0 2 9 8
  1988 Round 1 4 2 0 2 2 5 4 3 1 0 8 2
  1992 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 3 4
  1996 Round 1 3 1 0 2 3 6 4 3 0 1 6 2
  2000 Did not qualify 6 4 1 1 11 3
  2004 6 2 1 3 16 10
        2007 6 2 2 2 10 6
  2011 Round 1 3 1 0 2 4 5 6 4 2 0 10 2
  2015 Did not qualify 6 1 1 4 7 7
  2019 Round 1 3 0 1 2 2 5 8 6 0 2 26 11
  2023 Round of 16 4 1 2 1 2 2 8 7 0 1 22 7
  2027 To be determined 4 2 1 1 9 6
Total 7/19 25 8 5 12 19 30 72 40 13 20 143 74

Record results

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Syria's Asian Cup record
First match   Iran 0–0 Syria  
(17 September 1980; Kuwait City, Kuwait)
Biggest win   Uzbekistan 1–2 Syria  
(12 December 1996; Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)
  Saudi Arabia 1–2 Syria  
(9 January 2011; Al Rayyan, Qatar)
  Syria 1–0 India  
(23 January 2024; Al Khor, Qatar)
Biggest defeat   China 3–0 Syria  
(4 December 1988; Doha, Qatar)
  China 3–0 Syria  
(9 December 1996; Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)
Best result Round of 16 (2023)
Worst result Group stage (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2019)

Head-to-head record

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Goalscorers

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Player Goals 1980 1984 1988 1996 2011 2019 2023
Omar Khribin 3 1 2
Walid Abu Al-Sel 2 1 1
Jamal Keshek 2 2
Nader Joukhadar 2 2
Abdelrazaq Al-Hussain 2 2
Total 11 2 1 1 2 2 1 2
  • Only players with minimum 2 goals scored

References

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  1. ^ "Syria beat India to reach Asian Cup knockouts for first time". France 24. 23 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Syria shock Saudi Arabia at Asian Cup; Japan snatch draw". edition.cnn.com.
  3. ^ "Syria vs Japan Report - Goal.com". Archived from the original on 2011-03-17. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  4. ^ "AFC Competition Operations Manual (Edition 2023)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation.