Syria at the AFC Asian Cup
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
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
1980 Kuwait
Group A
| 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 |
Attendance: 15,000
| Bangladesh | 0–1 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
Keshek  7' |
| North Korea | 2–1 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Suleiman |
1984 Singapore
Group A
| 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 |
| Syria | 0–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Khalifa 66' |
| Syria | 1–0 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Hassan 12' |
| Kuwait | 3–1 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Mahrous 66' (o.g.) Al-Dakhil 77'A. Al-Buloushi 79' |
Abu Al-Sel 5' |
1988 Qatar
Group B
| 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' |
Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden)
Referee: Mohamed Hansal (Algeria)
| Bahrain | 0–1 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Abu Al-Sel 72' (pen.) |
Referee: Michel Vautrot (France)
1996 United Arab Emirates
Group C
| 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 |
2011 Qatar
Group B
| 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
Group B
| 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
2023 Qatar
Group B
| 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
- Ranking of third-placed teams
Source: AFC
Knockout stage
Round of 16
Overall record
| 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
| 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) | ||||
Goalscorers
| 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
