From its humble beginnings in 1956, the AFC Asian
Cup has developed into the continent’s premier football tournament.
Winner: South Korea.
Runner-up: Israel.
Having played an important role in the formation of the AFC in 1954,
Hong Kong was awarded the rights to host the inaugural Asian Cup tournament two years
later.
Winner: South Korea.
Runner-up: Israel.
Defending champions South Korea hosted the second Asian Cup in 1960 and
earned an automatic berth in the final rounds in Seoul.
Winner: Israel.
Runner-up: India.
Having finished runners-up to South Korea at the two previous
tournaments, Israel finally claimed the Asian Cup for themselves; at the third attempt.
Winner: Iran.
Runner-up: Burma.
The final rounds of the 1968 Asian Cup marked the last time that the
final round of the competition was played on a round-robin league basis and saw the
emergence of Iran as a continental football force.
Winner: Iran.
Runner-up: South Korea.
The fifth edition of the Asian Cup featured a host of new participants
with Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Syria taking part in the qualifying
competition for the first time.
Winner: Iran.
Runner-up: Kuwait.
A record 17 countries participated in the qualifying tournament
including first-timers China, Saudi Arabia and DPR Korea, all of whom qualified for the
final round. However, the Saudis and North Koreans withdrew from the finals along with
Thailand, while Lebanon gave up its hosting rights due to the outbreak of civil war in the
country.
Winner: Kuwait.
Runner-up: South Korea.
Once again, 17 teams took part in the regional qualifiers, battling for
the right to join defending champions Iran and hosts Kuwait in the finals in September
1980.
Winner: Saudi Arabia.
Runner-up: China.
The qualifying rounds featured 21 teams, who were split into four
qualifying groups. Iran and Syria took the two spot on offer in Group 1, in Jakarta; Saudi
Arabia and United Arab Emirates topped Group 2, in Jeddah; Korea Republic and India came
through Group 3, in Calcutta; while China and Qatar emerged from Group 4, in Guangzhou.
Winner: Saudi Arabia.
Runner-up: South Korea.
The competition followed a similar format to the two previous
competitions as eight teams progressed from the four qualifying round groups to join hosts
Qatar and defending champions Saudi Arabia in the final round.
Winner: Japan.
Runner-up: Saudi Arabia.
The qualifiers saw 20 competing teams split into six groups with only
the top team from each section going through to the finals, to join defending champions
Saudi Arabia and hosts Japan in the final round in Hiroshima.
Winner: Saudi Arabia.
Runner-up: United Arab Emirates.
The final round of the Asian Cup grew to 12 teams as Saudi Arabia
reclaimed the continental crown winning the final in another penalty shootout in Abu
Dhabi.
Winner: Japan.
Runner-up: Saudi Arabia.
A record 42 teams took part in the competition with 10 teams advancing
from the qualifying competition to join champions Saudi Arabia and hosts Lebanon in the
final round in October 2000.
Winner: Japan.
Runner-up: China.
For the first time, the qualification tournament was split into two
stages as over 40 countries battled for the 14 spots on offer in China.
Winner: Iraq.
Runner-up: Saudi Arabia.
The AFC Asian Cup 2007 marked the first time that the final rounds of a
major international football competition were co-hosted by four countries: Indonesia,
Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Qatar will host the Asian Cup finals, for the second time, in January
2011; the last time being 1988.
Qualifying.
Group A:
Bahrain, Hong Kong, Japan, Yemen.
Group B:
Australia, Indonisia, Kuwait, Oman.
Group C:
Malaysia, UAE, Uzbekistan.
Group D:
China, Lebanon, Syria, Vietnam.
Group E:
Iran, Jordan, Singapore, Thailand.
Iraq, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, the top three teams at the 2007
Asian Cup, along with 2011 hosts Qatar qualify automatically.
India, originally drawn in Group C, qualify automatically as 2008 AFC
Challenge Cup winners.
|
