# 1980 AFC Asian Cup qualification

This 1980 AFC Asian Cup qualification phase started in December 1978 while other qualification matches took place in early 1979. A total of 18 teams participated. Eight teams from the top two of each group advance to the final tournament, joining hosts Kuwait and defending champions Iran.

## Groups

| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 |
| Bahrain  Lebanon  Pakistan*  South Yemen*  Syria  United Arab Emirates | Afghanistan  Bangladesh  India*  Iraq*  Jordan*  Nepal*  Qatar  Saudi Arabia* | Brunei*  Burma*  Hong Kong  Indonesia  Malaysia  North Korea  Singapore  Sri Lanka  Thailand | China  Kampuchea*  Japan*  Laos*  Macau  Philippines  South Korea  Vietnam* |
* * Withdrew
* Iran qualified as defending champions
* Kuwait qualified as hosts

## Qualification
### Group 1

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| Syria | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | 1980 AFC Asian Cup |
| United Arab Emirates | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1980 AFC Asian Cup |
| Lebanon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 1 | |
| Bahrain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrawn |
* All matches played in the United Arab Emirates.
* 1 2 In the 17 November match between Syria and Bahrain, the referee awarded a penalty to Bahrain. The Syrian head coach entered the pitch, threatening the referee, who stopped the match in the 81st minute. The committee initially awarded the match 3–0 in favour of Bahrain, but Syria threatened to withdraw; the committee adjusted its decision to a replay of the match on 25 November, but then Bahrain withdrew. All matches involving Bahrain were annulled.

### Group 2

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| Qatar | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 7 | 1980 AFC Asian Cup |
| Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 4 | 1980 AFC Asian Cup |
| Afghanistan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 1 | |
* All matches played in Bangladesh.
* Iraq were originally drawn in this group but they withdrew before the start of the qualifiers.

### Group 3

* All matches played in Thailand.

#### Allocation matches to determine groups

* Singapore received a bye

#### Group 3A

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| Malaysia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 3 | Advance to semi-finals |
| North Korea | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 | Advance to semi-finals |
| Indonesia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 | |

#### Group 3B

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| Thailand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 6 | Advance to semi-finals |
| Hong Kong | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 4 | Advance to semi-finals |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 2 | |
| Singapore | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0 | |

#### Final

North Korea and Malaysia qualified for the final tournament

### Group 4

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| South Korea | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 6 | 1980 AFC Asian Cup |
| China | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 | 1980 AFC Asian Cup |
| Macau | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 2 | |
| Philippines | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 | |
* All matches played in the Philippines.

## Qualified teams

| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearance |
| Kuwait | Hosts | N/A | 2 (1972, 1976) |
| Iran | 1976 AFC Asian Cup champions | 13 June 1976 | 3 (1968, 1972, 1976) |
| Syria | Group 1 winners | 22 November 1979 | 0 (debut) |
| United Arab Emirates | Group 1 runners-up | 23 November 1979 | 0 (debut) |
| Qatar | Group 2 winners | 15 January 1979 | 0 (debut) |
| Bangladesh | Group 2 runners-up | 16 January 1979 | 0 (debut) |
| North Korea | Group 3 winners | 12 May 1979 | 0 (debut) |
| Malaysia | Group 3 runners-up | 11 May 1979 | 1 (1976) |
| South Korea | Group 4 winners | 29 December 1978 | 4 (1956, 1960, 1964, 1972) |
| China | Group 4 runners-up | 29 December 1978 | 1 (1976) |

## Controversies

In the 17 November match between Syria and Bahrain, the referee awarded a penalty to Bahrain. The Syrian head coach entered the pitch, threatening the referee, who stopped the match in the 81st minute. The committee initially awarded the match 3–0 in favour of Bahrain, but Syria threatened to withdraw; the committee adjusted its decision to a replay of the match on 25 November, but then Bahrain withdrew. All matches involving Bahrain were annulled.