2013 AFC U-22 Championship qualification explained

Tourney Name:	2013 AFC U-22 Championship qualification
Size:	220px
Dates:	16 June 2012 – 15 July 2012
Num Teams:	41
Matches:	100
Goals:	355
Nextseason:	2016

The 2013 AFC U-22 Championship qualification was the qualification tournament for the inaugural edition of the AFC U-22 Asian Cup.^[1] The qualifiers took place from 23 June to 3 July 2012, but were later changed to 2–10 June for Group D, due to Nepal's request. The matches were later rescheduled to start on 16 June and 3 July for Indonesia.^[2] ^[3]

Player eligibility

Players born before 1 January 1991 are not eligible to compete in the 2013 AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualification tournament.

Format

Forty-one member associations entered the qualification to grab 15 spots in the final tournament The qualifiers were to be held in seven centralized venues.

The teams were divided into six groups of six teams each and one group of five. They played in a single round-robin format and the top two teams qualifying for the tournament proper along with the best third-placed team from all the groups. The hosts of the Finals got a direct berth.

With the AFC Competitions Committee awarding the hosting rights of the 2013 Finals to Oman on 18 July 2012 and with Oman being the best third-placed side, this enabled the 2nd best third-placed team, Yemen, to enter the finals.^[4]

Tiebreakers

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria were applied to determine the rankings.^[5]

Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
Goal difference in all the group matches;
Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
Kicks from the penalty mark if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
Fewer scores are calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches;
Drawing of lots.

Teams

The countries which are qualified for the final tournament are emboldened.

Did not enter:

Group stage

West Asia

Group A

All matches were played in Muscat, Oman.
Times listed are UTC+4.

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Group B

All matches were played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Times listed are UTC+3.

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Group C

All matches were played in Malacca, Malaysia.
Times listed are UTC+8.

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Group D

All matches were played in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Times listed are UTC+5:45.

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East Asia

Group E

All matches were played in Pekanbaru, Indonesia.
Times listed are UTC+7.

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Group F

All matches were played in Vientiane, Laos.
Times listed are UTC+7.

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Group G

All matches were played in Yangon, Myanmar.
Times listed are UTC+6:30.

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Third placed teams

Due to Group D only having five teams in their group, results against teams finishing last in the 6-team groups will not be counted.

External links

AFC U-22 Championship, the-AFC.com

Notes and References

Web site: Stage set for U-22 Qualifiers draw. 14 February 2012. 13 February 2012. The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation.
Web site: Competitions Committee takes key decisions . The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 22 March 2012. 22 March 2012.
Web site: AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualifiers draw results. 14 February 2012. 17 February 2012. The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation.
Web site: Oman to host U-22 finals . AFC . 18 July 2012 .
Web site: Regulations AFC U-22 Asian Cup 2013 (Qualifiers). PDF.