# 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification

The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification was a men's under-23 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. Players born on or after 1 January 1993 were eligible to compete in the tournament.
A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Qatar who qualified automatically as hosts.
The top three teams of the final tournament qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Brazil.

## Draw

The draw for the qualifiers was held on 4 December 2014, 11:00 UTC+8, at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 43 AFC member national teams entered the qualifying stage and were drawn into ten groups.
* West Zone had 23 entrants from Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia (excluding hosts Qatar who did not enter the qualifying stage), where they were drawn into three groups of five teams and two groups of four teams
* East Zone had 20 entrants from ASEAN and East Asia, where they were drawn into five groups of four teams.
The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous season in 2013.
| | Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
| West Zone (Groups A–E) | Iraq  Jordan  Saudi Arabia  Syria  United Arab Emirates | Iran  Kuwait  Oman  Uzbekistan  Yemen | Bahrain  India  Kyrgyzstan  Nepal  Tajikistan | Bangladesh  Lebanon  Pakistan  Palestine  Sri Lanka | Afghanistan  Maldives  Turkmenistan |
| East Zone (Groups F–J) | Australia  China  Japan  North Korea  South Korea | Indonesia  Laos  Malaysia  Myanmar  Thailand | Cambodia  Chinese Taipei  Singapore  Timor-Leste  Vietnam | Brunei  Hong Kong  Macau  Mongolia  Philippines | |
Did not enter :
| West Zone | Bhutan |
| East Zone | Guam  Northern Mariana Islands |

### Notes

    $^1$ Non-IOC member, ineligible for Olympics.

## Format

In each group, teams played each other once at a centralised venue. The ten group winners and the best five runners-up from all groups qualified for the final tournament.

### Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:
* 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;
* If, after applying criteria 1 to 3, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 9 apply;
* Goal difference in all the group matches;
* Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
* Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
* Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
* Drawing of lots.

## Group stage

The matches were played between 23 and 31 March 2015 for Groups A and C (five-team groups); 27–31 March 2015 for Groups D–J (four-team groups); 16–20 May 2015 for Group B (due to postponement).
* Legend
* Group winners and best five runners-up qualify for the finals

### Group A

* All matches were held in Oman.
* Times listed were UTC+4.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Iraq | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 10 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Oman (H) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 8 | |
| 3 | Bahrain | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 | |
| 4 | Lebanon | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 4 | |
| 5 | Maldives | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 17 | −15 | 0 | |

### Group B

* All matches were originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan, between 23 and 31 March 2015 at Punjab Stadium, Lahore, but were postponed due to safety and security reasons after bombings and civil unrest in the city.
* All matches were later scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates between 16 and 24 May 2015. After the withdrawal of Turkmenistan, the dates were shortened to 16–20 May 2015.
* Times listed were UTC+4.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Jordan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 7 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Kuwait | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 | |
| 3 | Pakistan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 1 | |
| 5 | Turkmenistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |

### Group C

* All matches were held in Iran.
* Times listed were UTC+4:30.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 10 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Iran (H) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Palestine | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | |
| 4 | Afghanistan | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 4 | |
| 5 | Nepal | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | −17 | 0 | |

### Group D

* All matches were held in United Arab Emirates.
* Times listed were UTC+4.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United Arab Emirates (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Yemen | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Tajikistan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 | |

### Group E

* All matches were held in Bangladesh.
* Times listed were UTC+6.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Syria | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 3 | India | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 1 | |
| 4 | Bangladesh (H) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 1 | |

### Group F

* All matches were held in Taiwan.
* Times listed were UTC+8.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | +14 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Myanmar | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
| 3 | Chinese Taipei (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0 | |

### Group G

* All matches were held in Thailand.
* Times listed were UTC+7.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | North Korea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 7 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Thailand (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Cambodia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Philippines | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 | |

### Group H

* All matches were held in Indonesia.
* Times listed were UTC+7.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Korea | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | +12 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Indonesia (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 | |
| 3 | Timor-Leste | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Brunei | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 | |

### Group I

* All matches were held in Malaysia.
* Times listed were UTC+8.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Vietnam | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 3 | Malaysia (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Macau | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | −16 | 0 | |

### Group J

* All matches were held in Laos.
* Times listed were UTC+7.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | China | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 | 9 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Laos (H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 4 | |
| 3 | Singapore | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 2 | |
| 4 | Mongolia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 1 | |

## Ranking of second-placed teams

In order to ensure equality when comparing the runner-up team of all groups, the results of the matches against the 5th-placed team in Groups A and C were ignored due to the other groups having only four teams.
The best runner-up teams among those ranked second in the groups were determined as follows:
* Greater number of points obtained from group matches identified by AFC;
* Goal difference resulting from group matches identified by AFC;
* Greater number of goals scored in group matches identified by AFC;
* Greater number of wins in group matches identified by AFC;
* Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in group matches identified by AFC (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
* Drawing of lots.
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | G | Thailand | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Final tournament |
| 2 | C | Iran | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 3 | I | Vietnam | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 4 | D | Yemen | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 5 | E | Uzbekistan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 | Final tournament |
| 6 | H | Indonesia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 | |
| 7 | F | Myanmar | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
| 8 | A | Oman | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 5 | |
| 9 | B | Kuwait | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 | |
| 10 | J | Laos | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 4 | |
* 1 2 Yemen and Uzbekistan are ranked by disciplinary points.

## Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament |
| Qatar | Hosts | 28 November 2014 | 0 (debut) |
| Iraq | Group A winners | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| Jordan | Group B winners | 20 May 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| Saudi Arabia | Group C winners | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| United Arab Emirates | Group D winners | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| Syria | Group E winners | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| Australia | Group F winners | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| North Korea | Group G winners | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| South Korea | Group H winners | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| Japan | Group I winners | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| China | Group J winners | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| Thailand | 1st best runners-up | 31 March 2015 | 0 (debut) |
| Iran | 2nd best runners-up | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| Vietnam | 3rd best runners-up | 31 March 2015 | 0 (debut) |
| Yemen | 4th best runners-up | 31 March 2015 | 1 (2013) |
| Uzbekistan | 5th best runners-up | 20 May 2015 | 1 (2013) |
    $^2$ Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.

## Goalscorers
### 6 goals

* Omar Khribin

### 5 goals

* Jamie Maclaren

### 4 goals

* Sardar Azmoun
* Mahdi Kamel
* Amjad Waleed
* Baha' Faisal
* Faisal Al-Azemi
* Saud Al-Farsi
* Nguyễn Công Phượng

### 3 goals

* Andrew Hoole
* Amir Arsalan Motahari
* Mahmoud Al-Mardi
* Hatem Al-Hamhami
* Mahmoud Maowas
* Lê Thanh Bình

### 2 goals

* Connor Pain
* Komail Al-Aswad
* Chan Vathanaka
* Chen Hao
* Feng Gang
* Wu Xinghan
* Xie Pengfei
* Xu Xin
* Muchlis Hadi
* Ayman Hussein
* Bashar Rasan
* Shoya Nakajima
* Gakuto Notsuda
* Laith Al-Bashtawi
* Saleh Rateb
* Jeong Seung-hyun
* Kim Seung-jun
* Moon Chang-jin
* Sitthideth Khanthavong
* Alexis Khazzaka
* Hlaing Bo Bo
* Zon Moe Aung
* Mohammed Maraaba
* Fadi Zidan
* Ahmed Al-Nathiri
* Irfan Fandi
* Pinyo Inpinit
* Chenrop Samphaodi
* Ahmed Rabia Gheilani
* Yousif Saeed
* Abbosbek Makhsatalliev
* Sardor Rakhmanov
* Yaser Ali Al-Gabr
* Ayman Al-Hagri

### 1 goal

* Sayed Mohammad Hashimi
* Khalid Ahmad Sharif
* Mustafa Amini
* Joshua Brillante
* Brad Smith
* Jaushua Sotirio
* Adam Taggart
* Abdullah Al-Ajmi
* Ali Madan
* Sary Matnorotin
* Prak Mony Udom
* Soeuy Visal
* Guo Hao
* Li Yuanyi
* Zang Yifeng
* Ko Yu-ting
* Wei Yu-jen
* Wen Chih-hao
* Leung Ka Hai
* Leung Nok Hang
* Evan Dimas
* Manahati Lestusen
* Ahmad Nufiandani
* Adam Alis
* Hansamu Yama
* Behnam Barzay
* Roozbeh Cheshmi
* Alireza Jahanbakhsh
* Milad Kamandani
* Ali Karimi
* Mohammad Hossein Moradmand
* Shahin Saghebi
* Ali Hisni
* Abdul-Qadir Tariq
* Wataru Endo
* Yuya Kubo
* Takumi Minamino
* Musashi Suzuki
* Yuta Toyokawa
* Feras Shelbaieh
* Ho Myong-chol
* Jang Kuk-chol
* Jang Ok-chol
* Jo Kwang
* Kim Ju-song
* Pak Hyon-il
* Ri Hyong-jin
* So Kyong-jin
* Jang Hyun-soo
* Kim Hyun
* Kwon Chang-hoon
* Lee Chan-dong
* Lee Chang-min
* Lee Yong-jae
* Mohammad Al-Nassar
* Avazbek Otkeev
* Tiny Bounmalay
* Armisay Kettavong
* Phoutthasay Khochalern
* Soukchinda Natphasouk
* Khonesavanh Sihavong
* Mahmoud Siblini
* Nazirul Naim Che Hashim
* Syahrul Azwari Ibrahim
* Wan Ahmad Amirzafran Wan Nadris
* Mohamed Irufaan
* Hamza Mohamed
* Purevdorj Erdenebat
* Mungunshagai Tsogtbaatar
* Ishad Obaid Al-Abdul Salam
* Omar Al-Fazari
* Anwar Al-Hinai
* Omar Al-Malki
* Ahmed Al-Siyabi
* Kaung Sat Naing
* Nay Lin Tun
* Saddam Hussain
* Mansoor Khan
* Mahmoud Abu Warda
* Mahmoud Shaikh Qasem
* Fitch Arboleda
* Paolo Salenga
* Mustafa Al-Bassas
* Abdulrahman Al-Ghamdi
* Ryan Al-Mousa
* Mohammed Al-Saiari
* Saleh Al-Shehri
* Abdulfattah Asiri
* Abdullah Madu
* Mahmood Al-Baher
* Zohar Mohamed Zarwan
* Jahongir Aliev
* Jahongir Ergashev
* Romish Jalilov
* Firuz Rakhmatov
* Navruz Rustamov
* Parvizdzhon Umarbaev
* Pakorn Prempak
* Kasidech Wettayawong
* Chaowat Veerachat
* Agostinho
* Ezequiel Fernandes
* Henrique Cruz
* Ahmed Barman
* Khalfan Mubarak
* Saif Rashid
* Vladimir Kozak
* Jaloliddin Masharipov
* Igor Sergeev
* Hồ Ngọc Thắng
* Võ Huy Toàn
* Waleed Al-Hubaishi
* Mohammed Al-Sarori
* Ala Addin Mahdi

### 1 own goal

* Manas Karipov (playing against Pakistan)
* Tang Hou Fai (playing against Japan)
* Nadir Mabrook (playing against Iraq)
* Saeed Awadh Al-Yami (playing against Iran)
* Sunil Roshan (playing against United Arab Emirates)
    Source: The-AFC.com