The 2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men's

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

, a quadrennial international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tournament organised by the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

(AFC). The finals were held in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

between 12 and 29 October 2000.

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

defeated defending champion

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in the final match in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Qualification

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 the

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

versus

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

game on 3 August 1999. The 12 qualifying teams were: Notes: :

¹ Bold indicates champion for that year

² ''Italic'' indicates host

Stadiums

Squads

Tournament summary

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 of

Lee Dong-gook Lee Dong-gook (; ; born 29 April 1979) is a South Korean former professional Association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is a record scorer in the K League 1, and had brief spells in Europe with ...

, and the same happened in Saudi Arabia's victory over Kuwait, also by a golden goal of

Nawaf Al-Temyat Nawaf Bander Nawaf Al-Temyat (; born 28 June 1976) is a Saudi Arabian former footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Al-Temyat played his entire club career with Al-Hilal, starting in 1994 and retiring in 2008. In 2000, he was nomi ...

. 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 by Talal Al-Meshal at 76' and 80' meant

'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 Hamzah Idris Falatah (, born 8 October 1972) is a Saudi Arabian former footballer. He played as a striker for Ohud from 1992 to 1995 and then for Al Ittihad until he retired in 2007. For Saudi Arabia national team, Falatah participated in t ...

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, because Shigeyoshi 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 the

2004 AFC Asian Cup The 2004 AFC Asian Cup was the 13th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held from 17 July to 7 August 2004 in China. ...

First round

All times are Lebanon summer time (

UTC+3 UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a UTC offset, time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, ...

Group A

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Group B

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Group C

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Third-placed qualifiers

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.

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, the two best third-placed teams, qualified for the quarter-finals.

Knockout stage

All times are Lebanon summer time (

) Extra times were played under the

golden goal The golden goal is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...

rule.

Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Third place play-off

Final

Statistics

Goalscorers

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 *

Akinori Nishizawa is a Japanese former footballer who played as a forward. He played for Japan national team. Club career Nishizawa was born in Shizuoka on 18 June 1976. After graduating from Shimizu Higashi High School, he joined Cerezo Osaka in 1995. He mo ...

Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese Association football, football manager and former Football player, footballer. He also played for Japan national football team, Japan's national football team. Currently, he is working as president for Okinawa SV. Club career Tak ...

3 goals *

Qi Hong Qi Hong (; born June 3, 1976, in Shanghai) is a former Chinese international footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or shadow striker throughout his career. At Shanghai Shenhua he won the league and Chinese FA Cup with them before ...

* Yang Chen *

Ali Daei Ali Daei ( ; born 21 March 1969) is an Iranian Association football, football manager and former professional footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he was the captain (association football), captain of the Iran national footbal ...

* Hiroshi Nanami * Talal Al-Meshal * Mohammad Al-Shalhoub *

2 goals * Li Ming *

Karim Bagheri Karim Bagheri (; born 20 February 1974) is an Iranian professional association football, football coach and former midfielder who most notably played for the Iran national football team, Iranian national team and Persian Gulf Pro League club Pers ...

Hamid Estili Hamid Reza Estili (; born 1 April 1967) is an Iranian football coach and former player. Estili was a member of the Iran national team and is mostly remembered for his memorable goal and goal celebration against the United States at the 1998 FIF ...

* Sabah Jeayer *

Tomokazu Myojin is a Japanese former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for the Japan national football team, Japan national team. Club career Myojin was born in Kobe on 24 January 1978. He joined J1 League club ...

* Jasem Al-Huwaidi * Sakesan Pituratana 1 goal *

Fan Zhiyi Fan Zhiyi ( zh, c=范志毅, p=Fàn Zhìyì; born 6 November 1969) is a Chinese coach and former international footballer. He played as a defender for Shanghai Shenhua, Crystal Palace, Dundee, Shanghai COSCO Huili, Cardiff City, Buler Ran ...

Shen Si Shen Si () (born 1 May 1973 in Shanghai) is a former Chinese international footballer who played as a left midfielder where he gained a reputation for his technical and free kick skills, which saw him become a runner-up in the 2004 Free Kick Ma ...

Su Maozhen Su Maozhen (; born 30 July 1972) is a Chinese football coach and former international player. As a player, he spent his whole career with Shandong Luneng as a striker where he won several league and cups with them as well as being a regular f ...

Qahtan Chathir Qahtan Chathir is an Iraqi football forward who played for Iraq in the 1996 Asian Cup. He also played for Al Talaba, Al Karkh, Al Ittihad, Al-Thaid, Al Sinaa. Career Playing career Qahtan Chathir played for Al Talaba, Al Karkh, Al Itt ...

Abbas Obeid Abbas Obeid (; born December 10, 1973) is a former Iraqi football player. He played for Anyang LG Cheetahs and Pohang Steelers of the South Korean K League K League () is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first div ...

Haidar Mahmoud Haidar Mahmoud Majid (; born 19 September 1973) is an Iraqi football coach and former player. As a player, Mahmoud played as a right-back, representing Iraq in the 1996 and 2000 AFC Asian Cup. He also played club football with Al Zawraa for 10 y ...

* Hideaki Kitajima * Shigeyoshi Mochizuki *

Hiroaki Morishima is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for the Japan national team. Club career Morishima was born in Hiroshima on April 30, 1972. After graduating from high school, he joined Japan Soccer League clu ...

Shinji Ono is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his senior career with J1 League side Urawa Reds before moving Dutch side Feyenoord in 2001 where he won the UEFA Cup in 2002. He returned to Urawa Reds in 200 ...

Atsushi Yanagisawa is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for Japan national team. He is best known for playing the majority of his career at Kashima Antlers, in addition to his spells with Italian sides Sampdoria and ...

Kim Sang-sik Kim Sang-sik (; born 17 December 1976) is a South Korean football manager and former player. During his playing career, he played for the South Korea national team as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder. He is currently manager of Vietna ...

Lee Young-pyo Lee Young-pyo (; ; born 23 April 1977) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a right-footed left back. Lee was recognized for his speed and dribbling skills. His former manager Martin Jol once called him "the best left ...

Noh Jung-yoon Noh Jung-yoon (born March 28, 1971) is a South Korean footballer who spent almost his whole career in the J1 League, with a spell in the Dutch League. The midfielder was the first Korean player to play in the J1 League when he moved to J ...

Bashar Abdullah Bashar Abdullah Abdul Aziz (; born 12 October 1977) is a Kuwaiti former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was a part of the mini revival of Kuwaiti football between 1996 and 1998. His part included winning two Gulf Cups, re ...

* Abbas Chahrour * Luís Fernandes *

Moussa Hojeij Moussa Ali Hojeij (; born 6 August 1974) is a Lebanese football manager and former player. Hojeij was the best player in the Al-Manar Football Festival several times, and was captain of the national team. He is also a match analyst for Lebanon ...

Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi Mohammed Salem Al Enazi (; born 22 November 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Qatar, he represented the Qatar national team and before switching to represent the United Arab Emirates national team in 20 ...

* Abdulnasser Al-Obaidly * Mohammed Gholam *

Marzouk Al-Otaibi Marzouk Al-Otaibi (; born 7 November 1975) is a Saudi Arabian former footballer, who last played as a centre-forward for Al-Markhiya in Qatar. Club career Al-Otaibi started his career at Al-Shabab Club. In 1999, he joined Al-Ittihad for a then ...

Sergey Lushan Sergey Ivanovich Lushan (; born 14 June 1973) is an Uzbekistani football manager and former professional association football, footballer who played as a defender. Career Club His youth football career began in Pakhtakor football academy at ...

Mirjalol Qosimov Mirjalol Kushakovich Qosimov (, ; in English also: Mirdjalal Kasimov or Kasymov) (born 17 September 1970) is a former head coach of the Uzbekistan national football team. He also played for the national team as a playmaker in midfield. Qosimov i ...

Own goal *

(''for Japan'') *

Ryuzo Morioka is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for Japan national team. Club career Morioka was born in Yokohama on 7 October 1975. After graduating from high school, he joined Kashima Antlers in 1994. He m ...

(''for Saudi Arabia'')

Awards

Most Valuable Player * Hiroshi Nanami Top scorer *

Best Defender *

Best Goalkeeper *

Jiang Jin Jiang Jin (; born October 17, 1968, in Tianjin) is a former Chinese international football goalkeeper. He was the first-choice goalkeeper for China during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Along with his older brother Jiang Hong he also became a goalk ...

Fair Play Award * Team of the Tournament

References

External links

RSSSF Details
* {{DEFAULTSORT:AFC Asian Cup 2000

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the contin ...

2000–01 in Lebanese football International association football competitions hosted by Lebanon October 2000 sports events in Asia