2011 AFC Asian Cup
International football competition
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The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011.[1][2] It was the second time that the tournament was hosted by Qatar, the previous occasion being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup. Japan won the cup for the record-breaking fourth time after a 1–0 win against Australia, and earned the right to compete in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil as the representative from AFC.[3][4]
| 2011 كأس آسيا | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Qatar |
| Dates | 7–29 January |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue | 5 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Japan (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  Australia |
| Third place |  South Korea |
| Fourth place |  Uzbekistan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
| Goals scored | 90 (2.81 per match) |
| Attendance | 405,361 (12,668 per match) |
| Top scorer | Koo Ja-cheol (5 goals) |
| Best player | Keisuke Honda |
| Fair play award | South Korea |
← 2007 2015 → | |
A television viewing audience of 484 million in 80 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, North America and North Africa witnessed Japan defeat Australia 1–0 in the final.[5]
Host selection
Qatar, India and Iran all lodged interest in hosting the 2011 AFC Asian Cup,[6] while Australia also considered making a late bid.[7] Qatar officially submitted their bid on 19 June 2006,[8] while India withdrew their interest and Iran failed to submit proper documentation for their bid on time.[9]
Qatar was announced as host nation on 29 July 2007, during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia. Due to FIFA regulations stating that confederation events can be hosted either in January or July, and July being peak summer heat in the Middle East, 2011 Asian Cup took place in January of that year.[1][2]
Qualification
The teams finishing first, second and third in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, and the host nation for the 2011 competition, received automatic byes to the finals. They were joined by the top two finishers in each of five qualifying groups. The AFC Challenge Cup acted as a further qualification competition for eligible countries within the emerging and developing category of member associations. The winners of the AFC Challenge Cup competitions in 2008 and 2010 qualified automatically to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals. These two winners were India and North Korea. It was India's first play for the Asian Cup since 1984, and North Korea's first since 1992.
The final day of qualification was 3 March 2010.
List of qualified teams
| Country | Qualified as | Date qualification was secured | Previous appearances in tournament1, 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Qatar | Hosts | 29 July 2007 | 7 (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2007) |
 Iraq | 2007 AFC Asian Cup winner | 25 July 2007 | 6 (1972, 1976, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) |
 Saudi Arabia | 2007 AFC Asian Cup runner-up | 25 July 2007 | 7 (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) |
| South Korea | 2007 AFC Asian Cup third place | 28 July 2007 | 11 (1956, 1960, 1964, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) |
 India | 2008 AFC Challenge Cup winner | 13 August 2008 | 2 (1964, 1984) |
| Uzbekistan | Group C runner-up | 18 November 2009 | 4 (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) |
 Syria | Group D winner | 18 November 2009 | 4 (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996) |
 Iran | Group E winner | 6 January 2010 | 11 (1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) |
 China | Group D runner-up | 6 January 2010 | 9 (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) |
| Japan | Group A winner | 6 January 2010 | 6 (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007) |
 Bahrain | Group A runner-up | 6 January 2010 | 3 (1988, 2004, 2007) |
 United Arab Emirates | Group C winner | 6 January 2010 | 7 (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2007) |
 North Korea | 2010 AFC Challenge Cup winner | 27 February 2010 | 2 (1980, 1992) |
| Australia | Group B winner | 3 March 2010 | 1 (2007) |
 Kuwait | Group B runner-up | 3 March 2010 | 8 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004) |
 Jordan | Group E runner-up | 3 March 2010 | 1 (2004) |
Notes:
- 1 Bold indicates champion for that year
- 2 Italic indicates host
Draw
The draw for the AFC Asian Cup 2011 was held on 23 April 2010 in Doha, Qatar. Qatar were seeded among the top group.[10][11]
Seeding
Seeding was announced on 22 April 2010. Qatar were automatically placed in Group A.[12] FIFA rankings of April 2010 are given in brackets.[13]
| Pot 1 (Host and Seeds) | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qatar (96) Iraq (81) Saudi Arabia (66) South Korea (47) |
Japan (43) Australia (20) Iran (60) Uzbekistan (93) |
China (84) United Arab Emirates (100) Bahrain (69) Jordan (103) |
Syria (98) Kuwait (97) India (133) North Korea (106) |
Venues
Members of the AFC Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup 2011 have agreed the use of five stadiums for the 2011 tournament.[14]
Since the tournament, Ahmed bin Ali Stadium was demolished. Khalifa International Stadium have been heavily modified. The Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Thani bin Jassim Stadium and Suheim bin Hamad Stadium are the only largely unmodified stadium used for this tournament.
| City | Stadium | Capacity | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al Rayyan | Ahmed bin Ali Stadium | 21,282 |  |
| Jassim bin Hamad Stadium | 12,946 |  | |
| Khalifa International Stadium | 40,000 | .jpg) | |
| Thani bin Jassim Stadium | 21,175 |  | |
| Doha | Suheim bin Hamad Stadium | 13,000 |  |
Officials
12 referees and 24 assistants were selected for the tournament, along with three stand-by referees:[15]
| Referee | Assistants | |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Williams |
Ben Wilson |
Hakan Anaz |
| Yuichi Nishimura |
Toru Sagara |
Toshiyuki Nagi |
| Kim Dong-jin |
Jeong Hae-sang |
Jang Jun-mo |
 Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh |
Mu Yuxin |
Mohd Sabri bin Mat Daud |
 Abdullah Al Hilali |
 Bakhadyr Kochkarov |
Hamed Al Mayahi |
| Abdulrahman Abdou |
Mohammad Darman |
Hassan Al Thawadi |
| Mohsen Torky |
Hassan Kamranifar |
Reza Sokhandan |
 Abdul Malik Abdul Bashir |
Jeffrey Goh Gek Pheng |
Haja Maidin |
| Nawaf Shukralla |
Khaled Al Alan |
Mohammed Jawdat Nehlawi |
| Ali Al Badwawi |
Saleh Al Marzouqi |
Yaser Marad |
| Ravshan Irmatov |
Abdukhamidullo Rasulov |
Rafael Ilyasov |
Standby referees
| Alireza Faghani |
| Valentin Kovalenko |
| Abdullah Balideh |
Squads
Each country's final squad of 23 players was submitted by 28 December 2010.[16]
Group stage
All times are Arabian Standard Time (AST) – UTC+3
Tie-breaking criteria
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) and tie breakers are in following order:[16]
- Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference in all the group matches;
- Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
- Kicks from the penalty mark if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
- Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches; (1 point for each yellow card, 3 points for each red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for each direct red card, 4 points for each yellow card followed by a direct red card)
- Drawing of lots.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Qatar (H) |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | |
| 3 | China |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Kuwait |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 |
| Qatar | 0–2 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Ahmedov  59'Djeparov 77' |
| Kuwait | 0–2 | China |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Zhang Linpeng 58' Deng Zhuoxiang 67' |
| China | 2–2 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Yu Hai 6' Hao Junmin 56' |
Report | Ahmedov 30' Geynrikh 46' |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Jordan |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | |
| 3 | Syria |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 |
| Japan | 1–1 | Jordan |
|---|---|---|
| Yoshida 90+2' |
Report | Abdel Fattah 45' |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–2 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Jassim 60' |
Report | A. Al Hussain 38', 63' |
| Jordan | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Abdul-Rahman 42' |
Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–5 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Okazaki 8', 13', 80' Maeda 19', 51' |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | South Korea |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | |
| 3 | Bahrain |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | India |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 0 |
| South Korea | 2–1 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Koo Ja-cheol 41', 56' |
Report | Aaish 85' (pen.) |
| Australia | 1–1 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Jedinak 62' |
Report | Koo Ja-cheol 24' |
| Bahrain | 5–2 | India |
|---|---|---|
| Aaish 8' (pen.) Abdullatif 16', 19', 35', 77' |
Report | Gouramangi 9' Chhetri[a] 52' |
| South Korea | 4–1 | India |
|---|---|---|
| Ji Dong-won 6', 23' Koo Ja-cheol 9'Son Heung-min 81' |
Report | Chhetri 12' (pen.) |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Iraq |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | North Korea |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 | |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 |
| Iran | 1–0 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Ansarifard 63' |
Report |
| United Arab Emirates | 0–1 | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Abbas 90+3' (o.g.) |
| Iraq | 1–0 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Jassim 22' |
Report |
Knockout stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 21 January – Al Rayyan (KIS) | ||||||||||
| Uzbekistan | 2 | |||||||||
| 25 January – Al Rayyan (KIS) | ||||||||||
| Jordan | 1 | |||||||||
| Uzbekistan | 0 | |||||||||
| 22 January – Al Rayyan (JBHS) | ||||||||||
| Australia | 6 | |||||||||
| Australia (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||||||
| 29 January – Al Rayyan (KIS) | ||||||||||
| Iraq | 0 | |||||||||
| Australia | 0 | |||||||||
| 21 January – Al Rayyan (TBJS) | ||||||||||
| Japan (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||||||
| Japan | 3 | |||||||||
| 25 January – Al Rayyan (TBJS) | ||||||||||
| Qatar | 2 | |||||||||
| Japan (pen.) | 2 (3) | |||||||||
| 22 January – Doha | ||||||||||
| South Korea | 2 (0) | Third place | ||||||||
| Iran | 0 | |||||||||
| 28 January – Al Rayyan (JBHS) | ||||||||||
| South Korea (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||||||
| Uzbekistan | 2 | |||||||||
| South Korea | 3 | |||||||||
All times are Arabian Standard Time (AST) – UTC+3
Quarter-finals
| Uzbekistan | 2–1 | Jordan |
|---|---|---|
| Bakayev 47', 49' |
Report | B. Bani Yaseen 58' |
| Iran | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Yoon Bit-garam 105' |
Semi-finals
| Japan | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Maeda 36' Hosogai 97' |
Report | Ki Sung-yueng 23' (pen.) Hwang Jae-won 120' |
| Penalties | ||
K. Honda  Okazaki Nagatomo  Konno |
3–0 | Koo Ja-cheol Lee Yong-rae Hong Jeong-ho |
| Uzbekistan | 0–6 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Kewell 5' Ognenovski 35'Carney 65'Emerton 73'Valeri 82'Kruse 83' |
Third place playoff
| Uzbekistan | 2–3 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Geynrikh 45' (pen.), 53' |
Report | Koo Ja-cheol 18' Ji Dong-won 28', 39' |
Final
Statistics
Goalscorers
With five goals, Koo Ja-cheol was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 90 goals were scored by 60 different players, with three of them credited as own goals.
5 goals:
4 goals:
3 goals:
2 goals:
1 goal:
David Carney- Brett Emerton
- Brett Holman
- Robbie Kruse
- Saša Ognenovski
- Carl Valeri
Deng Zhuoxiang- Hao Junmin
- Yu Hai
- Zhang Linpeng
Gouramangi Singh
Arash Afshin- Karim Ansarifard
- Iman Mobali
- Mohammad Nouri
- Gholamreza Rezaei
Karrar Jassim- Younis Mahmoud
Makoto Hasebe- Keisuke Honda
- Hajime Hosogai
- Masahiko Inoha
- Tadanari Lee
- Maya Yoshida
Hassan Abdel Fattah- Baha'a Abdul-Rahman
- Odai Al-Saify
- Bashar Bani Yaseen
Bader Al-Mutawa
Mohamed El Sayed- Bilal Mohammed
- Sebastián Soria
Taisir Al-Jassim
Hwang Jae-won- Ki Sung-yueng
- Son Heung-min
- Yoon Bit-garam
Firas Al-Khatib- Mohamed Al Zeno
Maksim Shatskikh
1 own goal:
- Ali Diab (for Jordan)
2 own goals:
Walid Abbas (for Iraq and Iran)
Awards
The AFC selected the MVP, top goalscorer, fair play award and four quality players of the tournament.[17] They didn't officially announce the all-star team of this tournament.
Most Valuable Player
Top Goalscorer
Fair Play Award
Quality Players
Final standings
| Pos. | Team | G | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan |
B | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 6 | +8 |
| 2 | Australia |
C | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 13 | 2 | +11 |
| 3 |  South Korea |
C | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 7 | +6 |
| 4 | Uzbekistan |
A | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 13 | −3 |
| Eliminated in the quarter-finals | ||||||||||
| 5 | Qatar |
A | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 5 | +2 |
| 6 | Jordan |
B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| 7 | Iran |
D | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 2 | +4 |
| 8 | Iraq |
D | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Eliminated in group stage | ||||||||||
| 9 | China |
A | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 10 | Bahrain |
C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| 11 |  Syria |
B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | −1 |
| 12 | North Korea |
D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
| 13 | United Arab Emirates |
D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 |
| 14 | Kuwait |
A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | −6 |
| 15 | Saudi Arabia |
B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | −7 |
| 16 | India |
C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | −10 |
Source: AFC Technical Report
Marketing
Official match ball
The Nike Total 90 Tracer was the official match ball of the tournament.[18]
Official mascot
Official mascot were Saboog, Tmbki, Freha, Zkriti and Tranaa. They are a family of Jerboas, a rodent found in the deserts of Qatar. The characters are named after different locations in the north, south, east and west of Qatar.
Official song
| "Yalla Asia" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Jay Sean featuring Karl Wolf and Radhika Vekaria | |
| Released | 9 January 2011 |
| Length | 3:21 |
| Songwriters |
|
| Producer | Max Herman |
For marketing of the event, the organisers opted for the slogan "Yalla Asia" with a song sung by international artists Jay Sean and Karl Wolf, featuring Radhika Vekaria. Yalla Asia was composed and written by Radhika Vekaria, Max Herman and Zoulikha El Fassi. Max Herman produced the record for Zoul Projects 2011. The music video features Football Free Stylers Abbas Farid and Soufiane Touzani.
The music video was released on January 9, 2011.
Sponsorship
Official Sponsors
- Emirates
- Epson
- ING
- Konica Minolta
- Pocari Sweat
- Qatar Petroleum
- Qtel
- Samsung
- Toshiba
- The Asahi Shimbun
Official Supporters
Controversies
The 2011 Asian Cup was not without controversies as concerns were risen about the extremely low crowds at most games not featuring hosts Qatar. The average attendance was just 12,006, much lower than the previous AFC Asian Cup tournaments. North Korea and the United Arab Emirates both had the lowest attendance numbers with approximately 3,000 and 6,000 attendances respectively.[19] The final match between Japan and Australia saw as many as 3,000 to 10,000 fans with valid tickets denied entry to the stadium[20] which then allegedly sparked small skirmishes among fans, "It was just incredibly badly handled. There were kids and families, not causing any problem, being confronted by riot police and being told they weren't getting in", according to Andy Richardson, Al Jazeera's sports correspondent.[21] The AFC stated that the gates were closed early for security concerns and organisers did not anticipate an influx of Japanese and Australian fans. The organising committee has offered to refund all tickets not redeemed at the match.[22]
After staging the 2006 Asian Games,[23] this Asian Cup was being closely watched as an indicator to see how Qatar copes with hosting a major international football tournament[24] in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Notes
- Clarification on goalscorers: the second Indian goal is credited to Sunil Chhetri, who headed in a rebound after a shot from Renedy Singh hit the underside of the bar and bounced behind the goal line. However, as the officials did not indicate a goal was scored at that earlier point but only after Chhetri headed into the net, Renedy cannot be credited with the goal.
