2018 AFC Futsal Championship
The 2018 AFC Futsal Championship was the 15th edition of the AFC Futsal Championship, the biennial international futsal championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's national teams of Asia. The AFC appointed Taipei and New Taipei City, Taiwan (designated as Chinese Taipei by FIFA) as hosts on 29 July 2017;[1] the tournament took place between 1 and 11 February 2018 at Xinzhuang Gymnasium and University of Taipei Gymnasium.[2] A total of 16 teams played in the tournament.
| 2018亞足聯室內五人制足球錦標賽 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Taiwan | 
| Dates | 1–11 February | 
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) | 
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 | 
| Goals scored | 203 (6.34 per match) | 
| Attendance | 14,418 (451 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) | |
| Best player(s) | |
| Fair play award | |
Defending champions Iran defeated Japan in the final to win their 12th title.
Qualification
    
Qualifying was played on 15 October – 12 November 2017.[3]
Qualified teams
    
The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.[4]
| Team | Qualified as | Appearance | Previous best performance | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts | 12th | Quarter-finals (2003) | |
| ASEAN Zone Group A winners | 5th | Fourth place (2016) | |
| ASEAN Zone Group A runners-up | 1st | Debut | |
| ASEAN Zone Group B winners | 15th | Runners-up (2008, 2012) | |
| ASEAN Zone Group B runners-up | 12th | Group stage (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2016) | |
| East Zone Group A winners | 15th | Champions (2006, 2012, 2014) | |
| East Zone Group B winners | 13th | Runners-up (1999) | |
| East Zone play-off winners | 12th | Fourth place (2008, 2010) | |
| South & Central Zone Group A winners | 15th | Runners-up (2001, 2006, 2010, 2016) | |
| South & Central Zone Group A runners-up | 15th | Semi-finals (2005), Fourth place (2006, 2007) | |
| South & Central Zone Group B winners | 15th | Champions (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016) | |
| South & Central Zone Group B runners-up | 10th | Quarter-finals (2007) | |
| West Zone Group A winners | 2nd | Group stage (2002) | |
| West Zone Group A runners-up | 11th | Quarter-finals (2002, 2016) | |
| West Zone Group B winners | 11th | Quarter-finals (2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014) | |
| West Zone Group B runners-up | 2nd | Group stage (2016) | 
Venues
    
The competition was played in two venues in two cities.[5]
| New Taipei City | Taipei | |
|---|---|---|
| Xinzhuang Gymnasium | Taipei Gymnasium | |
| Capacity: 7,125 | Capacity: 1,000 | |
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Draw
    
The final draw was held on 12 December 2017, 11:00 TWT (UTC+8), at the Sherwood Taipei in Taipei.[6] The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams.[7] The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2016 AFC Futsal Championship final tournament and qualification, with the hosts Chinese Taipei automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.[8]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | 
|---|---|---|---|
  | 
Squads
    
Each team must register a squad of 14 players, minimum two of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 29.4 and 29.5).[9]
Match officials
    
The following referees were chosen for the 2018 AFC Futsal Championship.
- Referees
 
 Darius Turner
 Hussain Ali Al-Bahhar
 An Ran
 Liu Jianqiao
 Lee Po-fu
 Mahmoudreza Nasirloo
 Hasan Mousa Al-Gburi
 Tomohiro Kozaki
 Kim Jong-hee
 Nurdin Bukuev
 Mohamad Chami
 Helday Idang
 Rey Ritaga
 Yuttakon Maiket
 Azat Hajypolatov
 Fahad Al-Hosani
 Anatoliy Rubakov
 Trương Quốc Dũng
Group stage
    
The top two teams of each group advance 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 11.5):[9]
- 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 are 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.
 
All times are local, TWT (UTC+8).[10]
| Matchday | Dates | Matches | 
|---|---|---|
| Matchday 1 | 1–2 February 2018 | 1 v 4, 2 v 3 | 
| Matchday 2 | 3–4 February 2018 | 4 v 2, 3 v 1 | 
| Matchday 3 | 5–6 February 2018 | 1 v 2, 3 v 4 | 
Group A
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | Knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 3 | 
| Chinese Taipei  | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
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| Malaysia  | 4–5 | |
|---|---|---|
  | 
Report | 
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| Chinese Taipei  | 1–3 | |
|---|---|---|
  | 
Report | 
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Group B
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 9 | Knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 25 | −21 | 0 | 
| Uzbekistan  | 13–2 | |
|---|---|---|
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| Japan  | 4–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | 
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| Tajikistan  | 2–4 | |
|---|---|---|
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Report | 
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| South Korea  | 2–5 | |
|---|---|---|
  | 
Report | 
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| Uzbekistan  | 2–4 | |
|---|---|---|
  | 
Report | 
| Tajikistan  | 7–0 | |
|---|---|---|
  | 
Report | 
Group C
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 4 | +26 | 9 | Knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 18 | −10 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 22 | −17 | 0 | 
| Iran  | 14–0 | |
|---|---|---|
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| China  | 1–11 | |
|---|---|---|
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| Iran  | 5–3 | |
|---|---|---|
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Group D
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 7 | Knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 | 
| Kyrgyzstan  | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
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| Jordan  | 1–3 | |
|---|---|---|
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| Thailand  | 8–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | 
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Knockout stage
    
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where penalty shoot-out (no extra time) is used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 15.1).[9]
Bracket
    
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 8 February – U. of Taipei Gym. | ||||||||||
| 2 (8) | ||||||||||
| 9 February – Xinzhuang Gym. | ||||||||||
| 2 (9) | ||||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||||
| 8 February – U. of Taipei Gym. | ||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||
| 11 February – Xinzhuang Gym. | ||||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||||
| 8 February – Xinzhuang Gym. | ||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||
| 9 | ||||||||||
| 9 February – Xinzhuang Gym. | ||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||
| 7 | ||||||||||
| 8 February – Xinzhuang Gym. | ||||||||||
| 1 | Third place | |||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||
| 11 February – Xinzhuang Gym. | ||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||
| 4 (1) | ||||||||||
| 4 (2) | ||||||||||
Quarter-finals
    
| Lebanon  | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
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| Penalties | ||
  | 
8–9 | 
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| Iran  | 9–1 | |
|---|---|---|
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Report | 
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| Vietnam  | 1–3 | |
|---|---|---|
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Report | 
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Semi-finals
    
| Iran  | 7–1 | |
|---|---|---|
  | 
Report | 
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Third place match
    
| Iraq  | 4–4 | |
|---|---|---|
  | 
Report | 
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| Penalties | ||
  | 
1–2 | 
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Awards
    
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:
| Top Goalscorer[11] | Most Valuable Player[12] | Fair Play award | 
|---|---|---|
Goalscorers
    
There were 203 goals scored in 32 matches, for an average of 6.34 goals per match.
14 goals
12 goals
10 goals
7 goals
 Kaoru Morioka
 Davron Choriev
4 goals
 Farhad Tavakoli
 Waleed Khalid
 Apiwat Chaemcharoen
 Suphawut Thueanklang
 Mashrab Adilov
 Artur Yunusov
3 goals
 Lin Chih-hung
 Ahmad Esmaeilpour
 Mohammad Shajari
 Salim Faisal
 Hassan Ali Jabar
 Shota Hoshi
 Ahmad Kheir El-Dine
 Ali Tneich
 Awalluddin Nawi
 Pyae Phyo Maung (2)
 Jetsada Chudech
 Ilhomjon Hamroev
2 goals
 Ahmed Abdulnabi
 Mohamed Al-Sandi
 Gu Haitao
 Xu Yang
 Zhang Yameng
 Lai Ming-hui
 Moslem Oladghobad
 Hasan Dakheel
 Firas Mohammed
 Ryosuke Nishitani
 Kazuya Shimizu
 Maksat Alimov
 Adilet Imanbekov
 Ali El-Homsi
 Jang Yeong-cheol
 Umed Kuziev
 Dilshod Salomov
 Jirawat Sornwichian
 Farkhod Abdumavlyanov
 Anaskhon Rakhmatov
 Dilshod Rakhmatov
 Nguyễn Đắc Huy
 Phùng Trọng Luân
 Vũ Đức Tùng
1 goal
 Mohamed Abdulla
 Ali Saleh
 Shen Siming
 Zhao Liang
 Chi Sheng-fa
 Huang Po-chun
 Huang Tai-hsiang
 Saeid Ahmadabbasi
 Mehran Alighadr
 Zaid Ali
 Rafid Hameed
 Yuki Murota
 Kazuhiro Nibuya
 Koichi Saito
 Manabu Takita
 Abdel Samara
 Qais Shabib
 Musa Abu Shaikha
 Iuldashbai Salimbaev
 Manas Abdrasul Uulu
 Mohamad Kobeissy
 Kassem Koussan
 Hassan Zeitoun
 Aizad Daniel
 Azwann Ismail
 Khairul Effendy
 Khin Zaw Lin
 Nyein Min Soe
 Chun Jin-woo
 Park Young-jae
 Nekruz Alimakhmadov
 Shavqat Halimov
 Rustam Hamidov
 Bahodur Khojaev
 Fayzali Sardorov
 Rahmonali Sharipov
 Iqboli Vositzoda
 Nattawut Madyalan
 Kritsada Wongkaeo
 Khusniddin Nishonov
 Ikhtiyor Ropiev
 Dilmurod Shavkatov
 Phạm Đức Hòa
1 own goal
 Huang Tai-hsiang (against Malaysia)
 Mohammad Abou Zeid (against Thailand)
Tournament team rankings
    
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final results | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 6 | +44 | 18 | Champions | |
| 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 15 | Runners-up | |
| 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 20 | +7 | 10 | Third place | |
| 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 18 | −2 | 8 | Fourth place | |
| 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 8 | Eliminated in quarter-finals | |
| 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 4 | Third place in group stage | |
| 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 4 | ||
| 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 3 | ||
| 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 18 | −10 | 3 | ||
| 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 3 | Fourth place in group stage | |
| 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 | ||
| 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 22 | −17 | 0 | ||
| 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 25 | −21 | 0 | 
See also
    
    
References
    
- "AFC Futsal Club Licensing Regulations to strengthen professionalism in Asia". AFC. 29 July 2017.
 - "AFC Competitions Calendar 2018". AFC. 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018.
 - "AFC Competitions Calendar 2017" (PDF). AFC. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2017.
 - "Asia's best to converge in Chinese Taipei for AFC Futsal Championship 2018". AFC. 13 November 2017.
 - "2018亞足聯五人制足球錦標賽決賽16強抽籤結果出爐". Chinese Taipei Football Association. 12 December 2017.
 - "Enticing draw awaits Asia's finest futsal sides". AFC. 10 December 2017.
 - "AFC Futsal Championship 2018 draw results". AFC. 12 December 2017.
 - "AFC Futsal Championship 2018 Official Draw". YouTube. 12 December 2017.
 - "AFC Futsal Championship 2018 Competition Regulations". AFC. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018.
 - "2018AFC五人制足球錦標賽決賽賽程_中英版 (Official Match Schedule)" (PDF). Chinese Taipie Football Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 January 2018.
 - "IR Iran's Tayebi takes top scorer award". AFC. 11 February 2018.
 - "IR Iran's Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh named Most Valuable Player". AFC. 11 February 2018.
 
External links
    
- AFC Futsal Championship, the-AFC.com
 - AFC Futsal Championship 2018, stats.the-AFC.com
 


