2012_AFC_Challenge_Cup
2012 AFC Challenge Cup
International football competition
The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament, an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the defunct Vision Asia programme. It took place in Nepal from 8–19 March 2012.[1] Unlike in previous editions of the tournament, there were no automatic qualifiers. Therefore, 2010 champions North Korea, runners-up Turkmenistan, and third-placed Tajikistan had to navigate the qualification phase in order to return to the finals.[2] North Korea successfully defended their title and qualified for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.[3]
| एएफसी च्यालेन्ज कप फुटबल-२०१२ | |
|---|---|
Logo of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Nepal |
| Dates | 8–19 March |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  North Korea (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Turkmenistan |
| Third place |  Philippines |
| Fourth place |  Palestine |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 42 (2.63 per match) |
| Attendance | 50,000 (3,125 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Phil Younghusband (6 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Pak Nam-chol |
← 2010 2014 → | |
Maldives, Nepal, and Palestine expressed an interest to bid to host the tournament. A decision on which country would be hosts was set to be made by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on 14 June 2011,[4] but was deferred until the AFC Executive Committee on 29 July 2011.[5] The committee decided to endorse Nepal as the hosts of the AFC Challenge Cup 2012 Finals.[6]
| Kathmandu | |
|---|---|
| Dasarath Rangasala Stadium | Halchowk Stadium |
| Capacity: 17,800 | Capacity: 3,500 |
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The qualification stage saw 20 eligible member associations compete in qualifiers.[7]
- An initial pre-qualifying round (home and away) narrowed the field to 16 teams.
- The final qualifying round consist of four groups of four teams each with the group winners and runners-up qualifying.
- Only the eight teams that qualified for the tournament finals were permitted to bid to be hosts.
Qualified nations
Palestine – Qualification Group A winners
Philippines – Qualification Group A runners-up
India – Qualification Group B winners
Turkmenistan – Qualification Group B runners-up
Maldives – Qualification Group C winners
Tajikistan – Qualification Group C runners-up
North Korea – Qualification Group D winners
Nepal – Qualification Group D runners-up
The draw for the final tournament was held on 1 December 2011 at the Soaltee Crown Plaza Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal.[8]
Each team could name a squad of 23 players.[9]
All times are Nepal Time (NPT) – UTC+5:45
| Key to colours in group tables |
|---|
| Top two placed teams advance to the semi-finals |
Tie-breaking criteria
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) and tie breakers are in following order:[9]
- 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 score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches; (1 point for each yellow card, 3 points for each red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for each direct red card, 4 points for each yellow card followed by a direct red card)
- Drawing of lots.
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkmenistan |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 |
| Palestine |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
 Maldives |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 |
 Nepal |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
| Nepal | 0–3 | Turkmenistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tagaýew  7' Biraj 79' (o.g.) Hangeldiýew 89' |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Korea |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 9 |
| Philippines |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
 Tajikistan |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 |
 India |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 |
| North Korea | 2–0 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Pak Nam-chol I 58' Jang Kuk-chol 70' |
Report |
| Tajikistan | 0–2 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Pak Nam-chol I 4' Jang Kuk-chol 86' |
| North Korea | 4–0 | India |
|---|---|---|
| Jon Kwang-ik 3' Ri Kwang-hyok 34'Pak Nam-chol I 59'Ri Chol-myong 70' |
Report |
| Tajikistan | 1–2 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Negmatov 45+1' |
Report | P. Younghusband 54' Á. Guirado 80' |
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 16 March | ||||||
| Turkmenistan | 2 | |||||
| 19 March | ||||||
| Philippines | 1 | |||||
| Turkmenistan | 1 | |||||
| 16 March | ||||||
| North Korea | 2 | |||||
| North Korea | 2 | |||||
| Palestine | 0 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 19 March | ||||||
| Philippines | 4 | |||||
| Palestine | 3 | |||||
Semi-finals
| Turkmenistan | 2–1 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Amanow 80' Çoňkaýew 86' |
Report | P. Younghusband 25' |
| North Korea | 2–0 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
| Pak Kwang-ryong 42', 68' |
Report |
Third place play-off
| Philippines | 4–3 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
| P. Younghusband 4', 25' (pen.) Á. Guirado 42'J. Guirado 69' |
Report | Abuhabib 21', 67' Attal 78' |
Final
| Turkmenistan | 1–2 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Şamyradow 2' |
Report | Jong Il-gwan 36' Jang Song-hyok 87' (pen.) |
Winner
| 2012 AFC Challenge Cup champions |
|---|
 North Korea Second title |
Individual awards
The following awards were given for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup:[10][11]
| Fair Play Award | Golden Shoe | Most Valuable Player | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Korea |
Phil Younghusband |
Pak Nam-chol I |
Team of the tournament
The team of the tournament – Dream Team in a 4-4-2 formation.
Goalscorers
- 6 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- 1 own goal
- Biraj Maharjan (playing against Turkmenistan)
Post-tournament team ranking
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Korea |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | +11 |
| Turkmenistan |
5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 |
| Philippines |
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 |
| Palestine |
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 |
| Tajikistan |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 |
| Maldives |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 |
| Nepal |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 |
| India |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | −8 |
- "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2012 (Men)" (PDF). The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- "No direct entry for 2012 AFC Challenge Cup". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 17 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- "AFC Competitions Committee". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
- "Maldives, Nepal and Palestine bidding to host CC 2012 Finals". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
- "Chinese Taipei to host AFC President's Cup Finals". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- "Message of unity from AFC ExCo". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- "No direct entry for 2012 AFC Challenge Cup". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- "Nepal's luck of the draw". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- "Competition Regulations AFC Challenge Cup Nepal 2012". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- "Pak scoops MVP award". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- "Six-shooter Phil takes top scorer title". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 19 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- "2012 AFC Challenge Cup: RSSSF.com". Retrieved 4 September 2022.