| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 May – 24 December 1971 |
| Teams | 13 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 29 |
| Goals scored | 98 (3.38 per match) |
←1968 1976 → | |
| AFC Asian Qualifiers |
|---|
Qualification for the1972 AFC Asian Cup finals held inThailand.
| Central zone | Eastern zone | Western zone 1 | Western zone 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Israel originally qualified as hosts, but withdrew later[1]
Iraq were allocated to Western zone later
Iran qualified as defending championsGroup allocation matches where winners were divided into separate groups
Malaysia  | 8–0 |  Brunei |
|---|---|---|
Zulkifli Norbit 12',28',80'S. Abdullah 28',38',83'Wong Choon Wah 37'Soh Chin Aun 48' |
Indonesia  | 2–1 |  Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Budi Santoso 4' ? | ? |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 4 |
 Thailand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 2 |
| Brunei | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | −19 | 0 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 |
 Khmer Republic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Hong Kong | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 |
| Malaysia | 2–1 | Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Shaharuddin Abdullah 25',69' | Chung Chor Wai 44' |
Thailand and Khmer Republic qualified for final tournament
All the others withdrew, so
South Korea qualified automatically.
Group allocation matches where winners were divided into separate groups
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) had a bye
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iraq | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 6 |
 Jordan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
 Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 2 |
 Ceylon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kuwait | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
 Lebanon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
 Syria | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 1 |
Iraq and Kuwait qualified for final tournament
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | Hosts* andCentral Zone winners | 30 May 1971 | 0 (debut) |
| Iran | 1968 AFC Asian Cup Champions | 19 May 1968 | 1 (1968) |
| Khmer Republic | Central Zone runners-up | 30 May 1971 | 0 (debut) |
| South Korea | Eastern zone winners (automatically qualified) | 1971 | 3 (1956,1960,1964) |
| Iraq | Western Zone winners | 22 December 1971 | 0 (debut) |
| Kuwait | Western Zone runners-up | 21 December 1971 | 0 (debut) |
