1988 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Qualification for the Asian Football Confederation's 1988 AFC Asian Cup finals held in Qatar between 2 and 18 December. Saudi Arabia defeated Republic of Korea in the final match in Doha.

1988 AFC Asian Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates4 February 1988 – 22 June 1988
Teams20 (from 1 confederation)
← 1984
1992 →

Groups

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

 Bangladesh
 China
 India
 North Yemen
 Thailand
 United Arab Emirates

 Iraq *
 Japan[a]
 Jordan
 Kuwait
 Malaysia
 Pakistan

 Hong Kong
 Iran
   Nepal
 North Korea
 Singapore *
 Syria

 Bahrain
 Burma *
 Indonesia
 Oman *
 South Korea
 South Yemen

  • * Withdrew

Qualification

Group 1

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 United Arab Emirates 95410121+11
 China 85320100+10
 North Yemen 55131550
 Thailand 45122512–7
 Bangladesh 3503219–8
 India 1501406–6
India 0–1 Thailand
North Yemen 1–0 India
Mohammed Al Sharani 83'
Thailand 1–1 Bangladesh
Natee Thongsookkaew 50' Ahmed Ali 44'
China 5–0 Thailand

Group 2

  • All matches played in Malaysia.
  • Iraq were originally drawn in this group, but they withdrew on 6 April 1988 in protest at the AFC changing the fixtures schedule at late notice.[2]
Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Kuwait 7431090+9
 Japan 5421163+3
 Jordan 5413021+1
 Malaysia 3411246–2
 Pakistan 04004112–11
Malaysia 4–0 Pakistan
Mat Din 49'
Hassan 79', 80'
Salleh 84'		 Report
Kuwait 1–0 Japan
Jordan 1–0 Pakistan
Al-Turk 44' Report
Malaysia 0–1 Japan
Kuwait 0–0 Jordan
Malaysia 0–0 Jordan
Kuwait 3–0 Pakistan
Al-Haddad (?)
Al-Anezi (?)
Hussain (?)		 Report
Japan 1–1 Jordan
Malaysia 0–5 Kuwait

Group 3

  • All matches played in Nepal.
Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Syria 7431082+6
 Iran 6422061+5
 North Korea 5421132+1
 Hong Kong 1401305–5
   Nepal 1401307–7
Syria 2–1 North Korea
Al Nasser 28'
Kareghli 90'		 Kang Myong-sam 45'
Iran 2–0 Hong Kong
Ghayeghran 9'
Marfavi 73'
Referee: Xu Bingsheng (China)
Nepal   0–1 North Korea
Ju Kyong-shik 52'
Syria 1–1 Iran
Siflan 13' Bavi 73'
Referee: Abdulaziz Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)
Nepal   0–3 Syria
unknown
Ahmed 23'
Al Nasser 65'
Iran 0–0 North Korea
Referee: Abdulaziz Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)
Nepal   0–3 Iran
Bavi 6', 53', 67'
Referee: Abdulaziz Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

Group 4

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Bahrain 5321040+4
 South Korea 3311153+2
 Indonesia 3311114–3
 South Yemen 1301214–3
Indonesia 1–0 South Yemen
Bahrain 2–0 South Korea
South Korea 1–1 South Yemen
Indonesia 0–0 Bahrain
Bahrain 2–0 South Yemen
Indonesia 0–4 South Korea

Qualified teams

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearance
 QatarHostsN/A2 (1980, 1984)
 Saudi Arabia1984 AFC Asian Cup champions16 December 19841 (1984)
 United Arab EmiratesGroup 1 winners17 February 19881 (1980, 1984)
 ChinaGroup 1 runners-up16 February 19883 (1976, 1980, 1984)
 KuwaitGroup 2 winners18 April 19884 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984)
 JapanGroup 2 runners-up18 April 19880 (debut)
 SyriaGroup 3 winners3 June 19882 (1980, 1984)
 IranGroup 3 runners-up4 June 19885 (1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984)
 BahrainGroup 4 winners22 June 19880 (debut)
 South KoreaGroup 4 runners-up22 June 19886 (1956, 1960, 1964, 1972, 1980, 1984)

Notes

  1. ↑ Japan entered the 1988 AFC Asian Cup and its qualifiers with a B team, made up mostly of university players, as the Japan Football Association kept the senior national team players at home for domestic league and cup competitions.[1]

References

  1. ↑ "日本サッカーの夜明け前にあった「幻のアジア挑戦」 初出場の1988年大会、B代表で"ぶっつけ本番"【コラム】" (in Japanese). 11 January 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  2. ↑ Rokk, Lazarus (7 April 1988). "Angry Iraq pull out". New Straits Times.
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