2023 CAFA Nations Cup
International men's football competition
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The 2023 CAFA Nations Cup was the first edition of the CAFA Nations Cup, the biennial international men's football championship of Central Asia organized by the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA). The event was held in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan from June 10 to 20.[1]
Uzbekistan
| |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan |
| Dates | 10 – 20 June |
| Teams | 7 (from 2 sub-confederations) |
| Venues | 3 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Iran (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Uzbekistan |
| Third place |  Oman |
| Fourth place |  Kyrgyzstan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 11 |
| Goals scored | 33 (3 per match) |
| Attendance | 89,776 (8,161 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Mehdi Taremi (6 goals) |
| Best player | Mehdi Taremi |
| Best goalkeeper | Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini |
| Fair play award | Uzbekistan |
2025 → | |
Background
The inaugural edition of the senior men's tournament was initially planned to be hosted by Tashkent in October 2018.[2][3][4][5] It was not played out though.
In March 2023, it was announced the inaugural edition of the senior men's tournament would commence in June 2023 in Tashkent and Bishkek for the six member associations, along with the addition of two invited guest teams: Russia and an unconfirmed Asian team.[6][7][8] However, the start of the inaugural edition of the tournament was put in doubt again after it was reported in early April 2023 that Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia, and Iraq would instead take part in a four-nation tournament in June 2023.[9]
On 15 April, it was reported that Russia was set to shun the inaugural CAFA Championship, while organizers insisted they were still in talks with them over their participation.[10] On 18 April, it was reported that Iran would take part in the inaugural CAFA Championship along with the member associations of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, as well as invited guests Russia and one other Asian country, with the tournament being hosted in Tashkent and Bishkek in June.[11] On 19 April, it was reported that Russia had withdrawn from the tournament.[12][13] On 24 April, Oman was reported to be an invited guest team after Thailand reportedly turned down an invitation.[14][15][16]
Participating nations
| Country | Appearance | FIFA ranking 6 April 2023 |
|---|---|---|
 Afghanistan |
1st | 155 |
| Iran |
1st | 20 |
| Kyrgyzstan (co-hosts) |
1st | 96 |
| Oman (invitee) |
1st | 73 |
 Tajikistan |
1st | 109 |
 Turkmenistan |
1st | 137 |
| Uzbekistan (co-hosts) |
1st | 74 |
Seeding
The following 7 teams were divided based on their FIFA Ranking of April 2023.[14]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Draw results
The draw was held in Dushanbe on 26 April 2023 at 14:00 Time in Tajikistan (UTC+5). The draw resulted in the following groups:
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Venues
| Kyrgyzstan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bishkek | 2023 CAFA Nations Cup (Kyrgyzstan) | |
| Dolen Omurzakov Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 23,000 | ||
 | ||
| Uzbekistan | ||
| Tashkent | 2023 CAFA Nations Cup (Uzbekistan) | |
| Pakhtakor Central Stadium | Milliy Stadium | |
| Capacity: 35,000 | Capacity: 34,000 | |
 |
 | |
Squads
Each nation needed to submit a squad of 26 players, including 3 goalkeepers.
Officials
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Referees
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Assistant Referees
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Sponsors
Broadcasting rights
The following channels have been given broadcasting rights to broadcast the tournament.
| Territory | Rights holder(s) |
|---|---|
| Uzbekistan | UzNTRC Sport |
| Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz Sport TV |
| Tajikistan | TV Futbol |
| Iran | IRIB TV3 |
Group stage
All times are local, Uzbekistan Time (UTC+5) & Kyrgyzstan Time (UTC+6).
- Tiebreakers
Teams were 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 tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings.[18]
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- 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;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
- 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);
- Drawing of lots.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 9 | Advance to final |
| 2 | Oman |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | Advance to third place match |
| 3 | Tajikistan |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 2 | |
| 4 | Turkmenistan |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 |
| Tajikistan | 1–1 | Turkmenistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
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| Uzbekistan | 3–0 | Oman |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
| Oman | 1–1 | Tajikistan |
|---|---|---|
Al-Yahyaei  14' (pen.) |
Report | Khanonov 45' |
| Uzbekistan | 2–0 | Turkmenistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Turkmenistan | 0–2 | Oman |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Uzbekistan | 5–1 | Tajikistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
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Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 6 | Advance to final |
| 2 | Kyrgyzstan (H) |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | Advance to third place match |
| 3 | Afghanistan |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 |
| Kyrgyzstan | Awarded 3–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Batyrkanov 90+7' |
Report |
The match was abandoned in the 97th minute with Kyrgyzstan leading 1–0 after Afghanistan walked off and refused to continue. The match was awarded 3–0 to Kyrgyzstan.[19]
| Iran | 6–1 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
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Knockout round
Third place match
| Kyrgyzstan | 0–1 | Oman |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Final
| Uzbekistan | 0–1 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Goalscorers
There were 33 goals scored in 11 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match.
6 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Farshad Noor
Reza Asadi- Alireza Jahanbakhsh
Ernist Batyrkanov- Mirlan Murzayev
Arshad Al-Alawi- Abdulrahman Al-Mushaifri
- Issam Al-Sabhi
- Salaah Al-Yahyaei
Nuriddin Khamrokulov- Vakhdat Khanonov
- Parvizdzhon Umarbayev
Myrat Annaýew
Khojiakbar Alijonov- Khojimat Erkinov
- Abbosbek Fayzullaev
- Oston Urunov
- Jasurbek Yakhshiboev
Awards
The following awards were presented at the end of the tournament:[20]
- Best Player
- Top Goalscorer
- Best Goalkeeper
- Fair Play Award