| |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Lebanon |
| Dates | 12–29 October |
| Teams | 12 |
| Venue(s) | 3 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Japan (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Saudi Arabia |
| Third place |  South Korea |
| Fourth place |  China |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 77 (2.96 per match) |
| Attendance | 271,988 (10,461 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Lee Dong-Gook (6 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Hiroshi Nanami |
| Bestgoalkeeper | Jiang Jin |
| Fair play award | Saudi Arabia |
←1996 2004 → | |
The2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men'sAFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial internationalfootball tournament organised by theAsian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held inLebanon between 12 and 29 October 2000.Japan defeated defending championSaudi Arabia in the final match inBeirut.
42 teams participated in a preliminary tournament. It was divided into 10 groups and the first-placed team of each group thus qualified. A total of 84 games were held, starting with theOman versusKyrgyzstan game on 3 August 1999.
The 12 qualifying teams were:
| Country | Qualified as | Date qualification was secured | Previous appearances in tournament1,2 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Lebanon | Hosts | 20 December 1996 | 0 (Debut) |
| Saudi Arabia | 1996 AFC Asian Cup winners | 21 December 1996 | 4 (1984,1988,1992,1996) |
 Iraq | Qualifying round Group 1 winners | 7 August 1999 | 3 (1972,1976,1996) |
 Indonesia | Qualifying round Group 7 winners | 20 November 1999 | 1 (1996) |
 Uzbekistan | Qualifying round Group 3 winners | 26 November 1999 | 1 (1996) |
| China | Qualifying round Group 9 winners | 29 January 2000 | 6 (1976,1980,1984,1988,1992,1996) |
 Kuwait | Qualifying round Group 5 winners | 18 February 2000 | 6 (1972,1976,1980,1984,1988,1996) |
| Japan | Qualifying round Group 10 winners | 20 February 2000 | 3 (1988,1992,1996) |
 Qatar | Qualifying round Group 4 winners | 8 April 2000 | 4 (1980,1984,1988,1992) |
| South Korea | Qualifying round Group 6 winners | 9 April 2000 | 8 (1956,1960,1964,1972,1980,1984,1988,1996) |
 Thailand | Qualifying round Group 8 winners | 9 April 2000 | 3 (1972,1992,1996) |
 Iran | Qualifying round Group 2 winners | 11 April 2000 | 8 (1968,1972,1976,1980,1984,1988,1992,1996) |
Notes:
| Beirut | Sidon | Tripoli | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports City Stadium | Saida Municipal Stadium | International Olympic Stadium | |
| Capacity:47,799 | Capacity:22,600 | Capacity:22,400 | |
.png) |  |  |
Lebanon participated in the country's first ever football competition in the history as host, but began disappointingly, losing 0–4 to Iran. Lebanon sought to reinvigorate the team against Iraq and Thailand, but all ended up in just draws, and Lebanon finished bottom in the group, the first host nation since Qatar 1988 to not progress from the group stage. Iran and Iraq managed to survive in the group A with seven and four points respectively, and Thailand took the third, but did not progress due to inferior points, having won no match in their group. Group B saw South Korea failed to achieve a top two finish, falling behind group winner China and Kuwait, but qualified as the best third place team, with the team's only win was against Indonesia. Indonesia was the only team to not score a single goal in the tournament, being beaten by South Korea and China, and a goalless draw with Kuwait. Group C witnessed Uzbekistan to become the worst-performed team in the tournament, being heavily beaten 1–8 by Japan and 0–5 by defending champions Saudi Arabia. The Japanese scrambled to top the group with a famous 4–1 win over the Saudis, though Saudi Arabia would go on to progress together after an unpromising group stage performance. Qatar, another participant in the group, finished in third and progressed thanked for one point ahead of Thailand, having drawn in all three matches.
The quarter-finals saw Iran lost 1–2 to South Korea by a golden goal ofLee Dong-gook, and the same happened in Saudi Arabia's victory over Kuwait, also by a golden goal ofNawaf Al-Temyat. China and Japan easily passed through their Arab rivals Qatar and Iraq, with 3–1 and 4–1 wins respectively, to set up an entirely East Asian affair in the semi-finals, with Saudi Arabia being the only non-East Asian team to be here.
The first semi-finals saw Saudi Arabia sealed the victory over the South Koreans, with two goals byTalal Al-Meshal at 76' and 80' meantLee Dong-gook's late equalizer was too little, too late. Japan beat China in a thriller in Beirut, 3–2, to once again face the Saudis in the final. In the third place match, South Korea won bronze with a 1–0 win over China.
The final in Beirut was filled with majority of Saudi supporters, and was seen as the rematch of the 1992 final and earlier group stage encounter.Hamzah Idris had a chance to take the Saudis ahead of Japan at 10', but he missed the opportunity. Eventually, the missing penalty was what the Saudis regretted the most, becauseShigeyoshi Mochizuki, who had accidentally given the Saudis the failed opportunity on the penalty earlier, became the hero of Japan with a goal in 30'. Saudi attempt proved to be fruitless, and Japan won the game by just one goal margin, to conquer its second Asian trophy, repeating Japan's victory over Saudi Arabia eight years ago. Subsequently, Japan, the winner, automatically qualified for the2004 AFC Asian Cup.
All times are Lebanon summer time (UTC+3).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Iraq | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 | |
| 4 | Lebanon(H) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 2 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Kuwait | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | |
| 4 | Indonesia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 1 |
| South Korea | 2–2 | China |
|---|---|---|
Lee Young-pyo 30'Noh Jung-yoon 58' | Report | Su Maozhen 36' Fan Zhiyi 66' (pen.) |
| South Korea | 0–1 | Kuwait |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Al-Huwaidi 43' |
| South Korea | 3–0 | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Dong-gook 30',76',90+1' | Report |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 7 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | |
| 3 | Qatar | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–4 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Morioka 90+1' (o.g.) | Report | Yanagisawa 26' Takahara 39'Nanami 54'Ono 90' |
| Qatar | 1–1 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Gholam 61' | Report | Qosimov 73' |
| Japan | 8–1 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Morishima 7' Nishizawa 14',25',49'Takahara 18',20',57'Kitajima 79' | Report | Lushan 29' |
| Saudi Arabia | 5–0 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Otaibi 18' Al-Shalhoub 35',78',86'Al-Temyat 88' | Report |
| Japan | 1–1 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Nishizawa 61' | Report | Al-Obaidly 22' |
At the end of the first stage, a comparison was made between the third placed teams of each group. The two best third-placed teams advanced to the quarter-finals.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Qatar | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 |
South Korea andQatar, the two best third-placed teams, qualified for the quarter-finals.
All times are Lebanon summer time (UTC+3)
Extra times were played under thegolden goal rule.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 23 October –Sidon | ||||||||||
| China | 3 | |||||||||
| 26 October –Beirut | ||||||||||
| Qatar | 1 | |||||||||
| China | 2 | |||||||||
| 24 October –Beirut | ||||||||||
| Japan | 3 | |||||||||
| Japan | 4 | |||||||||
| 29 October –Beirut | ||||||||||
| Iraq | 1 | |||||||||
| Japan | 1 | |||||||||
| 23 October –Tripoli | ||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | |||||||||
| Iran | 1 | |||||||||
| 26 October –Beirut | ||||||||||
| South Korea (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||
| South Korea | 1 | |||||||||
| 24 October –Beirut | ||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | Third place | ||||||||
| Kuwait | 2 | |||||||||
| 29 October –Beirut | ||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||||||
| China | 0 | |||||||||
| South Korea | 1 | |||||||||
| Iran | 1–2 (a.e.t./g.g.) | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Bagheri 71' | Report | Kim Sang-sik 90' Lee Dong-gook  99' |
| Kuwait | 2–3 (a.e.t./g.g.) | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Bashar Abdullah 62' Al-Huwaidi 68' | Report | Al-Temyat 45+1' 109' Al-Meshal 72' |
| South Korea | 1–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Dong-gook 90+1' | Report | Al-Meshal 76',80' |
| South Korea | 1–0 | China |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Dong-gook 76' | Report |
| Japan | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Mochizuki 30' | Report |
With six goals, Lee Dong-Gook is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 77 goals were scored by 43 different players, with two of them credited as own goals.
6 goals
5 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Fan ZhiyiShen SiSu MaozhenQahtan ChathirAbbas ObeidHaidar MahmoudHideaki KitajimaShigeyoshi MochizukiHiroaki MorishimaShinji OnoAtsushi YanagisawaKim Sang-sikLee Young-pyoNoh Jung-yoonBashar AbdullahAbbas ChahrourLuís FernandesMoussa HojeijMohammed Salem Al-EnaziAbdulnasser Al-ObaidlyMohammed GholamMarzouk Al-OtaibiSergey LushanMirjalol QosimovOwn goal
Fan Zhiyi (for Japan)Ryuzo Morioka (for Saudi Arabia)Most Valuable Player
Top scorer
Best Defender
Best Goalkeeper
Fair Play Award
| Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2000 AFC Asian Cup finalists | |
|---|---|
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Quarter-finals | |
| Group stage | |
