Reports brought to you by Corinthian, reporting from Singapore and Thailand, and Peter Rowney (contributions welcome - BOTN at the AC)

Competition Information:

History of the AFC Asian CupTM

From its humble beginnings in 1956, the AFC Asian CupTM has developed into the continent's premier football tournament, bringing together the top national teams from the length and breadth of Asia to compete for one of international football's most sought-after prizes every four years.

The tournament had it roots in the formation of the Asian Football Confederation in Manila in 1954. The 12 founder members of the AFC sought to shape the development of the game in Asia and one of the keys to achieving that aim was the organisation of a regional competition for the continent's international teams.

Just two years later, the first ever AFC Asian CupTM was staged in Hong Kong with seven of the 12 affiliated national associations vying for the title of Asia's best football team.

Over half a century later, the AFC Asian CupTM has grown to encompass teams from throughout the continent and has become the barometer by which the continually changing balance of power in Asian football is measured.

From the dominance of Korea Republic in the early years of the competition, the Asian Cup became the providence of the mighty Iranians who won three consecutive tournaments from 1968 to 1976.

During the 1980s, the Gulf states asserted themselves with Kuwait becoming the first Arab side to win the competition in 1980 before Saudi Arabia claimed three of the next four championships, reaching the final five times in a row.

Japan's AFC Asian CupTM victories in 1992, 2000 and 2004 signaled a shift in power back to East Asia at the turn of the Millennium although the highly competitive nature of the most recent tournament in China is a clear indication that competition remains keen among the sides looking to be crowned Asia's top national team.

Host nations:

The AFC Asian Cup 2007TM marks the first time that the final rounds of a major international football competition will be co-hosted by four countries.

Understandably, the task of bringing together four nations to stage a tournament of this stature is an immense task but in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, the Asian Football Confederation has selected a group of vibrant and progressive countries firmly committed to making the 2007 Asian Cup a success.

South East Asia is a region of ethnic and cultural contrasts but the strong bond that the four host countries have built up on political and economic fronts through their memberships of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping ensures that their joint-hosting of the Asian Cup will follow the tournaments credo of respecting diversity and celebrating unity.

Competition Format:

Sixteen teams will contest the final rounds of the AFC Asian Cup 2007TM, which will, for the first time, be co-hosted by four nations – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. To determine the 12 countries that will join the four host nations in the finals in July 2007, a qualification competition is to be held in 2006.

QUALIFICATION COMPETITION

The entries of twenty-five (25) teams were accepted by the AFC Competition Committee for the AFC Asian Cup 2007TM. To streamline the qualifying process for the final rounds, it was decided that the Qualification Competition would take place in two stages with a preliminary round preceding the main qualifying round.

Participating Nations Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

PRELIMINARY ROUND

Based on the seeding of teams that had been accepted for the Qualification Competition, the two lowest-ranked sides – Bangladesh and Pakistan – met in a two-leg preliminary round playoff in December 2005 to determine the 24th and final side that would compete in the qualifying round.

Bangladesh won the tie 1-0 on aggregate but the late withdrawal of Sri Lanka from the Qualification Competition meant that Pakistan were also granted entry into the qualifying round draw on January 4, 2006.

QUALIFYING ROUND

Seedings & Draw

The 24 teams were ranked on the basis of their performances in the qualification and final rounds of the AFC Asian CupTM 2004 and divided into four pots of six teams each for the Qualifying Round draw.

At the draw held in Kuala Lumpur, the following qualifying round groups were determined:

Group A: Japan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, India
Group B: Iran, Korea Republic, Syria, Chinese Taipei
Group C: Jordan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan
Group D: Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Australia
Group E: China, Iraq, Singapore, Palestine
Group F: Uzbekistan, Qatar, Hong Kong, Bangladesh

Format:

The matches in the qualifying round were played in groups according to a double round-robin league system, with each team playing all opponents in its group in home and away matches. Three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a defeat.

The winners and runners-up of each of the six groups at the conclusion of the qualifying round went through to the final rounds of the AFC Asian Cup 2007TM.

Tiebreakers:

If two or more teams in a group are equal on points on completion of the group matches, their places shall be determined as follows:

1. Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned.
2. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned.
3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned (Away Goals do not apply in this stage of the competition).
4. Goal difference in all the group matches.
5. Kicks from the penalty mark if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play.
6. Drawing of lots.

Group D Results:

Group D - final standings
Country P W-D-L F-A Pts:
1. Australia 4 3-0-1 7-3 9
2. * Bahrain 4 1-1-2 3-6 4
3. Kuwait 4 1-1-2 3-4 4
Lebanon officially withdrew from the qualifying competition in August 2006. * Bahrain qualified by virtue of head-to-head results

Australia's results:
22-02-06 W3-1 v Bahrain (in Manama) Scorers: Archie Thompson 53', Josip Skoko 79', Ahmad Elrich 87'pen
16-08-06 W2-0 v Kuwait (Sydney) Scorers: Travis Dodd 75', Sasho Petrovski 86'
06-09-06 L0-2 v Kuwait (Kuwait City)
11-10-06 W2-0 v Bahrain (Sydney) Scorers: John Aloisi 17', Mark Bresciano 24'

FINAL ROUNDS:

Sixteen teams will qualify for the final rounds – the six winners and runners-up of the qualifying round groups, and the host associations Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament from July 7 to 29, 2007 will be split into two stages with a round-robin group stage and a knockout stage.

GROUP STAGE:

The 16 finalists will be seeded and divided into four groups of four teams each during the final round draw. Each team plays each of the other teams in the same group according to a league system (three points for a win, one point for a draw, no points for a defeat). The winners and runners-up in each group will advance to the quarter-finals.

KNOCKOUT STAGE

Quarter-finals:

The winners of each of the four groups will meet a runner-up from another group in the quarter-finals. All four quarter-finals will take place over one match with the winner progressing to the semi-finals. If the score is tied at the end of the regulation playing time, an extra two periods of 15 minutes each will be played. If the score is still level after extra time, the winners will be determined by kicks from the penalty mark.

Semi-finals:

The four winners of the quarter-finals play the semi-finals over one match with the winners progressing to the final. As with the quarter-finals, extra-time and penalties will be utilised in the event of a draw between two sides.

Final: The winners of the semi-finals play in the final to determine the AFC Asian Cup 2007TM champions. As with the quarter-finals and semi-finals, extra-time and penalties will be utilised in the event of a draw between the two sides.