2020 AFC U-23 Championship

The 2020 AFC U-23 Championship was the fourth edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted men's football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for under-23 national teams. A total of 16 teams competed in the tournament. It took place between 8–26 January 2020 in Thailand.

2020 AFC U-23 Championship
ฟุตบอลชิงชนะเลิศแห่งเอเชีย รุ่นอายุไม่เกิน 23 ปี 2020
Tournament details
Host countryThailand
Dates8–26 January[1]
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions South Korea (1st title)
Runners-up Saudi Arabia
Third place Australia
Fourth place Uzbekistan
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored69 (2.16 per match)
Attendance107,402 (3,356 per match)
Top scorer(s)Australia Nicholas D'Agostino
Iraq Mohammed Nassif
Thailand Jaroensak Wonggorn
United Arab Emirates Zaid Al-Ameri
Uzbekistan Islom Kobilov (3 goals each)
Best player(s)South Korea Won Du-jae
Best goalkeeperSouth Korea Song Bum-keun
Fair play award Saudi Arabia
2018
2022

The tournament acted as the AFC qualifiers for the 2020 Summer Olympics men's football tournament. The top three teams of the tournament would qualify for the Olympics in Japan as the AFC representatives.[2] As Japan had already qualified as the hosts, had they reached the semi-finals, the other semi-finalists were guaranteed qualification even before the phase would have commenced.[3]

Uzbekistan were the defending champions,[4] but were eliminated in the semi-finals. South Korea became the fourth different country to win the tournament, beating Saudi Arabia in the final,[5] while Australia defeated Uzbekistan in the third place game 1–0.[6]

Host selection

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Several nations expressed interest to host the tournament, including Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.[7][8] Thailand were selected as host of the competition at an AFC Competition Committee's meeting in Tokyo in August 2018.[9]

Qualification

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  Qualified for AFC U23 Championship
  Failed to qualify
  Withdrew or did not participate
  Not an AFC member

The qualifiers were held from 18 to 26 March 2019, during the FIFA International Match Calendar.[10]

Qualified teams

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Thirteen of the sixteen teams (including hosts Thailand) that qualified for 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualified again for the 2020 final tournament. The 2013 champions Iraq, 2016 champions Japan, 2018 champions Uzbekistan all qualified for the 2020 final tournament. The teams: Iraq, Japan, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, South Korea, China PR, Australia qualified for all editions of AFC U-23 Championship till 2020.

Iran, United Arab Emirates come back after missing out in 2018, with Bahrain making their debut at the tournament finals.

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.[11]

Team Qualified as Appearance Previous best performance
  Thailand Hosts 3rd Group stage (2016, 2018)
  Qatar Group A winners 3rd Third place (2018)
  Bahrain Group B winners 1st Debut
  Iraq Group C winners 4th Champions (2013)
  United Arab Emirates Group D winners 3rd Quarter-finals (2013, 2016)
  Jordan Group E winners 4th Third place (2013)
  Uzbekistan Group F winners 4th Champions (2018)
  North Korea Group G winners 4th Quarter-finals (2016)
  South Korea Group H winners 4th Runners-up (2016)
  Japan Group I winners 4th Champions (2016)
  China Group J winners 4th Group stage (2013, 2016, 2018)
  Vietnam Group K winners 3rd Runners-up (2018)
  Australia Group H runners-up[note 1] 4th Quarter-finals (2013)
  Iran Group C runners-up[note 1] 3rd Quarter-finals (2016)
  Syria Group E runners-up[note 1] 4th Quarter-finals (2013)
  Saudi Arabia Group D runners-up[note 1] 4th Runners-up (2013)

Venues

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The competition was played in four venues across four cities/provinces.

Bangkok Buriram
Rajamangala Stadium Buriram Stadium
Capacity: 49,722 Capacity: 32,600
   
Songkhla Pathum Thani
Tinsulanon Stadium Thammasat Stadium
Capacity: 45,000 Capacity: 25,000
   

Draw

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The draw of the final tournament was held on 26 September 2019, 15:00 ICT (UTC+7), at the Swissotel Bangkok Ratchada in Bangkok.[12][13][14] The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship final tournament and qualification, with the hosts Thailand automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.[15]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  1.   Thailand (hosts)
  2.   Uzbekistan
  3.   Vietnam
  4.   Qatar

Match officials

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On 3 January 2020, the AFC announced the list of referees chosen for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship. 34 referees, 26 assistant referees and 2 support assistant referees were appointed for the tournament. Video assistant referees will be used in this tournament.[16][17]

Referees
Assistant referees
  •   Anton Shchetinin
  •   Ashley Beecham
  •   Mohamed Salman
  •   Abdulla Al-Rowaimi
  •   Cao Yi
  •   Shi Xiang
  •   Mohammadreza Abolfazl
  •   Mohammadreza Mansouri
  •   Ahmad Al-Roalle
  •   Mohammad Al-Kalaf
  •   Jun Mihara
  •   Hiroshi Yamauchi
  •   Park Sang-jun
  •   Yoon Kwang-yeol
  •   Abu Bakar Al-Amri
  •   Rashid Al-Ghaithi
  •   Saud Al-Maqaleh
  •   Taleb Al-Marri
  •   Mohammed Al-Abakri
  •   Khalaf Al-Shammari
  •   Ronnie Koh Min Kiat
  •   Palitha Hemathunga
  •   Mohammed Al-Hammadi
  •   Hasan Al-Mahri
  •   Timur Gaynullin
  •   Andrey Tsapenko
Support assistant referees
  •   Mohd Yusri Muhamad
  •   Rawut Nakarit

Squads

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Players born on or after 1 January 1997 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team had to register a squad of minimum 18 players and maximum 23 players, minimum three of whom must have been goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 24.1 and 24.2).[3]

Group stage

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The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.

Tiebreakers

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):[3]

  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.

All times are local, ICT (UTC+7).[18]

Schedule
Matchday Dates Matches
Matchday 1 8–10 January 2020 1 v 4, 2 v 3
Matchday 2 11–13 January 2020 4 v 2, 3 v 1
Matchday 3 14–16 January 2020 1 v 2, 3 v 4

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Australia 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5 Knockout stage
2   Thailand (H) 3 1 1 1 7 3 +4 4
3   Iraq 3 0 3 0 4 4 0 3
4   Bahrain 3 0 2 1 3 8 −5 2
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Iraq  1–1  Australia
  • Nassif   77'
Live Report
Stats Report
Thailand  5–0  Bahrain
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 7,076
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Bahrain  2–2  Iraq
Live Report
Stats Report
Australia  2–1  Thailand
Live Report
Stats Report

Thailand  1–1  Iraq
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 15,342
Australia  1–1  Bahrain
Live Report
Stats Report

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Saudi Arabia 3 2 1 0 3 1 +2 7 Knockout stage
2   Syria 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
3   Qatar 3 0 3 0 3 3 0 3
4   Japan 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Qatar  2–2  Syria
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 750
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Japan  1–2  Saudi Arabia
Live Report
Stats Report

Saudi Arabia  0–0  Qatar
Live Report
Stats Report
Syria  2–1  Japan
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 1,509
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

Qatar  1–1  Japan
Live Report
Stats Report
Saudi Arabia  1–0  Syria
Live Report
Stats Report

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   South Korea 3 3 0 0 5 2 +3 9 Knockout stage
2   Uzbekistan 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
3   Iran 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
4   China 3 0 0 3 0 4 −4 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Uzbekistan  1–1  Iran
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 4,180
South Korea  1–0  China
Live Report
Stats Report

Iran  1–2  South Korea
Live Report
Stats Report
China  0–2  Uzbekistan
Live Report
Stats Report

Uzbekistan  1–2  South Korea
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 606
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)
China  0–1  Iran
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 3,567
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   United Arab Emirates 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 5 Knockout stage
2   Jordan 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
3   North Korea 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
4   Vietnam 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 2
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Vietnam  0–0  United Arab Emirates
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 3,967
North Korea  1–2  Jordan
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 305

United Arab Emirates  2–0  North Korea
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 1,867
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Jordan  0–0  Vietnam
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 1,089
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Vietnam  1–2  North Korea
Live Report
Stats Report
Jordan  1–1  United Arab Emirates
Live Report
Stats Report

Knockout stage

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In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 12.1 and 12.2).[3]

Bracket

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Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
18 January – Bangkok
 
 
  Australia (a.e.t.)1
 
22 January – Pathum Thani
 
  Syria0
 
  Australia0
 
19 January – Pathum Thani
 
  South Korea2
 
  South Korea2
 
26 January – Bangkok
 
  Jordan1
 
  South Korea (a.e.t.)1
 
18 January – Pathum Thani
 
  Saudi Arabia0
 
  Saudi Arabia1
 
22 January – Bangkok
 
  Thailand0
 
  Saudi Arabia1
 
19 January – Bangkok
 
  Uzbekistan0 Third place match
 
  United Arab Emirates1
 
25 January – Bangkok
 
  Uzbekistan5
 
  Australia1
 
 
  Uzbekistan0
 

Quarter-finals

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Saudi Arabia  1–0  Thailand
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 14,958
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Australia  1–0 (a.e.t.)  Syria
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 214
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

South Korea  2–1  Jordan
Live Report
Stats Report

United Arab Emirates  1–5  Uzbekistan
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 244
Referee: Fu Ming (China PR)

Semi-finals

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The winners qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Saudi Arabia  1–0  Uzbekistan
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 329
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Australia  0–2  South Korea
Live Report
Stats Report

Third place match

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The winner qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Australia  1–0  Uzbekistan
Live Report
Stats Report

Final

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South Korea  1–0 (a.e.t.)  Saudi Arabia
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 2,879

Winners

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2020 AFC U-23 Championship
 
South Korea
First title

Awards

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The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

Top scorer[19] Most Valuable Player[20] Best Goalkeeper[19] Fair Play award[19]
  Jaroensak Wonggorn[note 2]   Won Du-jae   Song Bum-keun   Saudi Arabia

Goalscorers

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There were 69 goals scored in 32 matches, for an average of 2.16 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Tournament team rankings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Final result
1   South Korea 6 6 0 0 10 3 +7 18 Champions
2   Saudi Arabia 6 4 1 1 5 2 +3 13 Runners-up
3   Australia 6 3 2 1 6 5 +1 11 Third place
4   Uzbekistan 6 2 1 3 9 6 +3 7 Fourth place
5   Jordan 4 1 2 1 4 4 0 5 Eliminated in
quarter-finals
6   United Arab Emirates 4 1 2 1 4 6 −2 5
7   Thailand (H) 4 1 1 2 7 4 +3 4
8   Syria 4 1 1 2 4 5 −1 4
9   Iran 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4 Eliminated in
group stage
10   North Korea 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
11   Iraq 3 0 3 0 4 4 0 3
12   Qatar 3 0 3 0 3 3 0 3
13   Vietnam 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 2
14   Bahrain 3 0 2 1 3 8 −5 2
15   Japan 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1
16   China 3 0 0 3 0 4 −4 0
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Qualified teams for the Summer Olympics

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The following four teams from the AFC qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympic men's football tournament, including Japan which qualified as the hosts.

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in the Summer Olympics1
  Japan 7 September 2013 10 (1936, 1956, 1964, 1968, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  South Korea 22 January 2020[21] 10 (1948, 1964, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  Saudi Arabia 22 January 2020[21] 2 (1984, 1996)
  Australia 25 January 2020[22] 72 (1956, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008)
1 Italic indicates hosts for that year.
2 Australia qualified as a member of the OFC for six tournaments between 1956 and 2004.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d The four best runners-up qualified for the final tournament.
  2. ^ Playing fewer minutes than the other players scoring 3 goals, Wonggorn won the Top Scorer Award

References

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  1. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2020". AFC. 28 February 2018. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018.
  2. ^ "OC for FIFA Competitions approves procedures for the Final Draw of the 2018 FIFA World Cup". FIFA.com. 14 September 2017. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Competition Regulations AFC U-23 Championship 2020". Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Sidorov the hero as Uzbekistan emerge champions". AFC. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Jeong Tae-wook header seals Korea Republic title". AFC. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  6. ^ "D'Agostino strike sends Australia to the Olympics". AFC. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Việt Nam plans to host U23 champs in 2020". Việt Nam News. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  8. ^ Rosdi, Aziman (6 February 2018). "Malaysia to bid for the 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship". New Straits Times. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  9. ^ "FA Thailand proposed as 2020 AFC U-23 Championship host". AFC. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  10. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2019". 28 February 2018. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Cast for 2020 Finals confirmed". AFC. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  12. ^ "AFC issues RFP for EMC service for AFC U23 Championship 2020 Final Draw Ceremony". AFC. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Stars of tomorrow set for Thailand 2020 draw". AFC. 25 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Thailand 2020: Draw produces exciting groups". AFC. 26 September 2019.
  15. ^ "#AFCU23 Thailand 2020 - Preview Show (Pre Draw)". YouTube. 25 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Match officials for Thailand 2020 appointed". the-afc.com. 3 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Match officials". the-afc.com. 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Match Schedule: AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020". AFC. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019.
  19. ^ a b c "Korea Republic's Song named Best Goalkeeper, Thailand's Wonggorn wins Top Scorer Award". AFC. 26 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Korea Republic's Won named Thailand 2020 MVP". AFC. 26 January 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia secure Tokyo 2020 qualification". FIFA.com. 22 January 2020. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020.
  22. ^ "Australia book final Asian ticket to Tokyo 2020". FIFA.com. 25 January 2020. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020.
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