Goa: With Thursday's draw for the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 now complete, join the-afc.com as we take a closer look at the teams who will be vying for glory come September's competition.
GROUP A
INDIA
Qualified as: Hosts/Runners-up in Group E (3rd best)
Appearance: 7th
Best finish: Quarter-finals (2002)
Last time out: Did not qualify
Hosts India will be making their seventh appearance at the AFC U-16 Championship and will be hoping home advantage can help them better their previous best achievement in the tournament, when they reached the quarter-finals in 2002.
Having failed to make it to the 2014 edition after finishing third in their group behind Kuwait and Tajikistan, the young Blue Tigers produced a better showing in the qualifiers this time around, booking their place in the finals as the third-best runners-up.
An impressive 5-0 victory over Bahrain was followed up by a 3-0 loss to eventual Group E winners Iran before the South Asians secured second place with a 6-0 hammering of Lebanon, with Suresh Singh Wangjam netting a hat-trick to take his tally in the qualifiers to four following the midfielder’s strike in the opening fixture.
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
Qualified as: Group E winners
Appearance: 10th
Best finish: Champions (2008)
Last time out: Eliminated in quarter-finals (lost 4-2 on penalties to DPR Korea after 0-0 draw)
Iran ensured participation in the AFC U-16 Championship finals for a tenth time, scoring 12 times with just one conceded as the 2016 qualifying Group E hosts finished top of the table with victories over Lebanon (3-1), India (3-0), and Bahrain (6-0).
Since making their AFC U-16 Championship debut in 1996 Iran appeared in all but one of the following nine tournaments, finishing runners-up in 2000 before going on to claim their first title with a 2-1 defeat of Korea Republic int he 2008 final.
Iran’s hopes of a second title ended at the quarter-final stage of the 2014 AFC U-16 Champions in Thailand, where they lost to eventual champions DPR Korea in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw of their last-eight encounter.
SAUDI ARABIA
Qualified as: Group D winners
Appearance: 10th
Best finish: Champions (1985, 1988)
Last time out: Eliminated in group stage (bottom of Group D with two points)
Champions and third-place finishers twice in the first five AFC U-16 Championships, Saudi Arabia have yet to repeat their success of the formative years of the competition - when they won the inaugural tournament in 1985 and claimed a second title in 1988 - bowing out of the last two editions at the group stage.
The Saudis secured their place in the finals for a third successive AFC U-16 Championship by comfortably topping Group D, which had been reduced to three teams following the withdrawal of Pakistan.
Five different players were on the scoresheet as the 2006 and 2008 quarter-finalists began their 2016 qualifying campaign with a 5-1 defeat of Group D hosts Bangladesh before booking their passage to India with an equally emphatic 6-2 triumph over Gulf neighbours the UAE.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Qualified as: Runners-up in Group D (4th best)
Appearance: 7th
Best finish: Runners-up (1990)
Last time out: Did not qualify
A 6-1 triumph over hosts Bangladesh was sufficient for the United Arab Emirates to book their place in the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship as runners-up in Group D, which had been reduced to three teams following the withdrawal of Pakistan.
After skipper Majid Rashid netted a hat-trick in the opening win over Bangladesh, the tables were turned on the UAE by Gulf rivals Saudi Arabia as they crashed to a 6-2 defeat to the eventual table-toppers but the Emiratis had still done enough to qualify to the finals as the fourth ranked of the group runners-up.
Losing finalists in 1990 - finishing runners-up to Qatar on home soil in what was their tournament debut, - the UAE also made it to the last four in 2008 and the quarter-finals in 2002, again as hosts, and in 2010, which was the last time they took part in the AFC U-16 Championship.
GROUP B
AUSTRALIA
Qualified as: Group J winners
Appearance: 5th
Best finish: Semi-finals (2010, 2014)
Last time out: Semi-finals (lost 4-1 on penalties to DPR Korea after 1-1 draw)
Finishing top of 2016 Group J with victories over Guam (14-0), Myanmar (3-1) and Vietnam (1-0) ensured Australia have qualified for every edition of the AFC U-16 Championship since making their tournament debut in 2008.
Prior to becoming a member of the AFC in 2006, Australia dominated youth football in Oceania, winning ten out of 11 OFC U-17 Championship titles, but the Joeys have yet to taste victory as part of the Asian confederation.
Australia missed out on the semi-finals on their AFC U-16 Championship debut in 2008 when they let slip a 2-1 lead before conceding in stoppage time to bow out 3-2 to the UAE but made it to the final four two years later only to be denied a place in the final by hosts Uzbekistan. The Joeys were again eliminated by the hosts when they were defeated 5-1 in the 2012 quarter-finals by Iran before again missing out on the final after being knocked out on penalties in the semi-finals by eventual Thailand 2014 champions DPR Korea.
JAPAN
Qualified as: Group K winners
Appearance: 13th
Best finish: Champions (1994, 2006)
Last time out: Quarter-finals (lost 2-0 to Korea Republic)
Japan topped Group K with ruthless efficiency as the young Samurai Blue swept aside Mongolia 17-0 and Hong Kong 7-0 to take part in the AFC U-16 Championship for the 13th time, a total bettered only by 14-time qualifiers China, who missed out on qualification to India.
After failing to get beyond the group stage in their tournament debut in 1988 Japan took top honours in their next appearance in 1994, winning their second title in 2006 before finishing runners-up six years later following a penalty shootout defat to Uzbekistan in the 2012 final in Tehran.
Semi-finalists on four occasions - finishing fourth in 1996 and third in 2000 - Japan reached at least the semi-finals in four consecutive tournaments from 2006 to 2012, with their run ending at the last edition where they were defeated 2-0 by Korea Republic in the quarter-finals of Thailand 2014.
VIETNAM
Qualified as: Runners-up in Group J (1st best)
Appearance: 6th
Best finish: 4th (2000)
Last time out: Did not qualify
Vietnam ensured a return to the AFC U-16 Championship for the first time since 2010 by finishing runners-up to Australia in Group J, making the most of home field advantage as the ASEAN side scored 23 goals in three matches, the third highest total of the 2016 qualifiers.
Boosted by the five goals of Tran Van Dat and the four from Bui Anh Duc, Vietnam defeated Myanmar (5-1) and Guam (18-0) before their winning run in Hanoi came to an end with a narrow 1-0 loss to Australia, although the loss proved not too detrimental to the cause as Dinh The Nam’s side emerged as the best of the five group runners-up.
The Vietnamese made their AFC U-16 Championship debut in 2000 and again home advantage worked in their favour as the tournament hosts pipped China to second spot in Group A to qualify for the semi-finals, where they were eventually beaten by Iran 4-0.
AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 Qualifying Results & Tables
KYRGYZSTAN
Qualified as: Group B winners
Appearance: 1st
Best finish: N/A
Last time out: Did not qualify
Kyrgyzstan will be appearing at the AFC U-16 Championship for the first time after topping Group B on goal difference ahead of Oman and Jordan, with Nepal disqualified from the qualifiers after being found to have fielded an ineligible player.
The Central Asians looked out of the reckoning when they lost 2-0 and 4-2 to Oman and Nepal respectively before ending with what appeared to be an academic 4-1 win over Jordan, but after an MRI scan revealed a Nepalese player to be overage all of their matches were declared void and 3-0 victories were awarded to their opponents.
This put the trio of Kyrgyzstan, Oman and Jordan all level on six points with the Samat Suimaliev-coached side finishing on top due to their superior goal difference of one over the second-placed Omanis.
GROUP C
KOREA REPUBLIC
Qualified as: Group I winners
Appearance: 12th
Best finish: Champions (1986, 2002)
Last time out: Runners-up (lost 2-1 to DPR Korea Republic in final)
With 27 goals in three games, Korea Republic scored more times than any other team in the qualifiers, as the two-time champions booked their place at the AFC U-16 Championship finals for a 12th time in emphatic fashion.
Park Jeon-gin scored six times as Korea Republic opened with a 17-0 hammering of Macau before subsequent victories over Chinese Taipei (6-0) and hosts China (4-0) saw the South Koreans top Group I with a 100% record.
Champions on their tournament debut when they defeated hosts Qatar on penalties in the 1986 final, Korea Republic won their second trophy in 2002 with another shootout success as the East Asians edged Yemen in the UAE and had two chances to add a third AFC U-16 Championship title in 2008 and most recently in 2014 only to finish runners-up to Iran and DPR Korea respectively.
MALAYSIA
Qualified as: Group G winners
Appearance: 4th
Best finish: Quarter-finals (2014)
Last time out: Eliminated in quarter-finals (lost 2-1 to Australia)
Malaysia qualified to the AFC U-16 Championship for only the fourth time after finishing first in Group G following victories over the Northern Mariana Islands (13-0), Timor Leste (1-0) and the Philippines (7-0) before rounding off a successful campaign with a 1-1 draw against hosts Laos.
Malaysia’s goal tally of 22 was the fourth highest of the qualifiers, with Muhammad Izreen finding the net five times to finish joint-second in the scoring charts with five other players, all of whom were just one shy of the competition-leading six set by Korea Republic’s Park Jeon-gin and Rasul Yuldoshov of Uzbekistan.
Two years ago, on their return to the AFC U-16 Championship finals for the first time since 2008, having made their tournament debut four years earlier, Malaysia reached the quarter-finals only to bow out following a narrow 2-1 loss to Australia in Nonthaburi.
OMAN
Qualified as: Runners-up in Group B (5th best)
Appearance: 9th
Best finish: Champions (1996, 2000)
Last time out: Eliminated in group stage (bottom of Group A with zero points)
It turned out to be something of a dramatic passage to India for Oman, who went from Group B winners at the end of the last September’s qualifiers to scraping in as the fifth and final of the best runners-up following Nepal’s disqualification from the competition a month later for fielding an ineligible player.
Oman, under 16 champions in 1996 and 2000, had finished top of the table after victories over Group B hosts Kyrgyzstan (2-0) and Nepal (3-1) either side of a 2-0 loss to Jordan.
But with Nepal forfeiting their matches 3-0, Oman, Kyrgyzstan, and Jordan all finished level on six points, with the Gulf Sultanate’s goal difference inferior to the group hosts but slightly better than third-placed Jordan as the Omanis advanced alongside table-topping Kyrgyzstan.
IRAQ
Qualified as: Group C winners
Appearance: 9th
Best finish: Third place (1985)
Last time out: Did not qualify
Having missed out on the last AFC U-16 Championship after finishing behind Nepal and Bahrain in the 2014 qualifiers, 2012 semi-finalists Iraq return to the tournament finals having topped Group C with a 100% record.
After coming from a goal down to defeat Tajikistan 3-1 in their opening match, Iraq made it two-wins-out-of two by edging qualifying Group C hosts Qatar before finishing with an emphatic 5-0 thrashing of Turkmenistan.
Key to Iraq’s qualification quest were the five goals of Alaa Adnan Jabbar, who found the net in all three games, scoring the crucial winner in the 1-0 defeat of Qatar and twice against the Tajiks and the Turkmen.
GROUP D
DPR KOREA
Qualified as: Group H winners
Appearance: 10th
Best finish: Champions (2010, 2014)
Last time out: Champions (beat Korea Republic 2-1 in final)
DPR Korea will head to India looking to become the first nation in AFC U-16 Championship history to win back-to-back titles, with the defending champions earning the opportunity to defend their crown by topping Group H of the 2016 qualifiers with a 100% record following victories over Cambodia (7-0), Singapore (3-0) and Thailand (2-0).
Semi-finalists on their tournament debut in 1986 and then again in 1992, DPR Korea have been one of the strongest nations in recent years, reaching the final in four of the last six tournaments.
The North Koreans finished runners-up in 2004 and 2006 before winning their maiden title in 2010. After failing to successfully retain their title when they fell at the group stage in Tehran two year’s later, DPR Korea claimed the trophy for a second time, defeating Iran and Australia on penalties in the quarter and semi-finals respectively, before edging neighbours Korea Republic 2-1 in the 2014 final in Bangkok.
UZBEKISTAN
Qualified as: Group A winners
Appearance: 9th
Best finish: Champions (2012)
Last time out: Eliminated in quarter-finals (lost 5-2 to Syria)
One of eight former champions that will be participating in the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Uzbekistan had no trouble sealing their berth after a dominant display saw them finish top of Group A in qualifying.
The Uzbeks kicked-off their campaign with an 8-0 rout of Maldives before defeating Palestine 6-0 and Yemen 5-2 as the the Central Asians look to win the tournament for a second time, having triumphed over Japan on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the 2012 decider
Uzbekistan were unable to make it a hat-trick of appearances in the AFC U-16 Championship final after the 2010 runners-up were unable to successfully defend the title they won in Iran as they bowed out at the quarter-final stage of Thailand 2014 following a shock 5-2 loss to Syria.
THAILAND
Qualified as: Runners-up in Group H (2nd best)
Appearance: 10th
Best finish: Champions (1998)
Last time out: Eliminated in group stage (3rd in Group A, three points behind second-placed Malaysia)
Victories over ASEAN neighbours Singapore (5-0) and Cambodia (1-0) laid the foundations of Thailand making a tenth appearance at the AFC U-16 Championship, with a 2-0 defeat to DPR Korea seeing them finish the qualifying campaign as Group H runners-up behind the defending champions.
Thailand have hosted the tournament three times, first in 1988 when they failed to get beyond the group stage and then for the second time eight years later when they finished runners-up following a 1-0 defeat to Oman in the 1996 final.
The Thais had better fortune two years later in Qatar when they defeated the 1998 hosts 3-2 on penalties to become the first South East Asian nation to win the AFC U-16 Championship, but they have been unable to reach the knockout stage in their four subsequent appearances, most recently in 2014 when Thailand hosted the tournament for the third time.
YEMEN
Qualified as: Runners-up in Group A (6th best)
Appearance: 5th
Best performance: Runners-up (2002)
Last time out: Did not qualify
Yemen will compete at the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship after FIFA’s continued suspension of Group F winners Kuwait, saw them advance as Group A runners-up, the next best-placed team in the qualifiers.
This year’s continental gathering will mark the Yemenis’ fifth appearance at the tournament but, so far, none have been more memorable than their debut in 2002 when they made it all the way to the final before beating beaten on penalties by Korea Republic.
They showed a couple of positive signs in qualifying last September after beating Palestine 2-0 and then cruising to a 6-0 triumph over Maldives, before losing to Uzbekistan 5-2 in their final game to finish second in Group A.
Source: the-afc.com