2023 CAFA Nations Cup

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2023 CAFA Nations Cup
Tournament details
Host countriesKyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan
Dates10 – 20 June
Teams7 (from 2 sub-confederations)
Venue(s)3 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Iran (1st title)
Runners-up Uzbekistan
Third place Oman
Fourth place Kyrgyzstan
Tournament statistics
Matches played11
Goals scored33 (3 per match)
Attendance89,776 (8,161 per match)
Top scorer(s)Iran Mehdi Taremi
(6 goals)
Best player(s)Iran Mehdi Taremi
Best goalkeeperOman Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini
Fair play award Uzbekistan
TBD →

The 2023 CAFA Nations Cup was the first edition of the CAFA Nations Cup, the biennial international men's football championship of Central Asia organized by the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA). The event was held in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan from June 10 to 20.[1]

Background[edit]

The inaugural edition of the senior men's tournament was initially planned to be hosted by Tashkent in October 2018.[2][3][4][5] It was not played out though.

In March 2023, it was announced the inaugural edition of the senior men's tournament would commence in June 2023 in Tashkent and Bishkek for the six member associations, along with the addition of two invited guest teams: Russia and an unconfirmed Asian team.[6][7][8] However, the start of the inaugural edition of the tournament was put in doubt again after it was reported in early April 2023 that Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia, and Iraq would instead take part in a four-nation tournament in June 2023.[9]

On 15 April, it was reported that Russia was set to shun the inaugural CAFA Championship, while organizers insisted they were still in talks with them over their participation.[10] On 18 April, it was reported that Iran would take part in the inaugural CAFA Championship along with the member associations of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, as well as invited guests Russia and one other Asian country, with the tournament being hosted in Tashkent and Bishkek in June.[11] On 19 April, it was reported that Russia had withdrawn from the tournament.[12][13] On 24 April, Oman was reported to be an invited guest team after Thailand reportedly turned down an invitation.[14][15][16]

Participating nations[edit]

Country Appearance FIFA ranking
6 April 2023
 Afghanistan 1st 155
 Iran 1st 20
 Kyrgyzstan (co-hosts) 1st 96
 Oman (invitee) 1st 73
 Tajikistan 1st 109
 Turkmenistan 1st 137
 Uzbekistan (co-hosts) 1st 74

Seeding[edit]

The following 7 teams were divided based on their FIFA Ranking of April 2023.[14]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  •  Oman (73) (invitee)

Draw results[edit]

The draw was held in Dushanbe on 26 April 2023 at 14:00 Tajikistan Time (UTC+5). The draw resulted in the following groups:

Group A
Pos Team
A1  Uzbekistan
A2  Tajikistan
A3  Turkmenistan
A4  Oman
Group B
Pos Team
B1  Kyrgyzstan
B2  Iran
B3  Afghanistan

Venues[edit]

 Kyrgyzstan
Bishkek
Dolen Omurzakov Stadium
Capacity: 23,000
 Uzbekistan
Tashkent
Pakhtakor Central Stadium Milliy Stadium
Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 34,000

Squads[edit]

Main article: 2023 CAFA Championship squads

Officials[edit]

Sponsors[edit]

Cyprus 1xBet[17]

Broadcasting rights[edit]

The following channels have been given broadcasting rights to broadcast the tournament.

Territory Rights holder(s)
Uzbekistan UzNTRC Sport
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz Sport TV
Tajikistan TV Futbol
Iran IRIB TV3

Group stage[edit]

All times are local, Uzbekistan Time (UTC+5) & Kyrgyzstan Time (UTC+6).

Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings.[18]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

Group A[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Uzbekistan (H) 3 3 0 0 10 1 +9 9 Advance to final
2  Oman 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 4 Advance to third place match
3  Tajikistan 3 0 2 1 3 7 −4 2
4  Turkmenistan 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1
Source: Soccerway
(H) Hosts


Tajikistan 1–1 Turkmenistan
 Report
Attendance: 97
Referee: Hassan Akrami (Iran)
Uzbekistan 3–0 Oman
 Report
Attendance: 12,912
Referee: Dayirbek Abdilaev (Kyrgyzstan)
Oman 1–1 Tajikistan
Al-Yahyaei 14' (pen.) Report Khanonov 45'
Attendance: 110
Uzbekistan 2–0 Turkmenistan
 Report
Attendance: 14,410
Referee: Nurzatbek Abdikadirov (Kyrgyzstan)
Turkmenistan 0–2 Oman
Report
Attendance: 126
Referee: Dayirbek Abdilaev (Kyrgyzstan)
Uzbekistan 5–1 Tajikistan
 Report
Attendance: 9,099
Referee: Hassan Akrami (Iran)

Group B[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iran 2 2 0 0 11 2 +9 6 Advance to final
2  Kyrgyzstan (H) 2 1 0 1 4 5 −1 3 Advance to third place match
3  Afghanistan 2 0 0 2 1 9 −8 0
Source: Soccerway
(H) Hosts
Kyrgyzstan 3–0 (Awarded)1 Afghanistan
Batyrkanov 90+7' Report
Attendance: 8,876
Referee: Charymurad Kurbanov (Turkmenistan)
Iran 6–1 Afghanistan
 Report
Attendance: 33
Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)
Kyrgyzstan 1–5 Iran
 Report
Attendance: 9,927
Referee: Akhrol Riskullaev (Uzbekistan)

1 The match was abandoned in the 97th minute with Kyrgyzstan leading 1–0 after Afghanistan walked off and refused to continue. The match was awarded 3–0 to Kyrgyzstan.[19]

Knockout round[edit]

Third place match[edit]

Kyrgyzstan 0–1 Oman
Report
Attendance: 186
Referee: Akhrol Riskullaev (Uzbekistan)

Final[edit]

Uzbekistan 0–1 Iran
Report
Attendance: 34,000

Goalscorers[edit]

There were 33 goals scored in 11 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match.

6 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Awards[edit]

The following awards were presented at the end of the tournament:[20]

Best Player
Top Goalscorer
Best Goalkeeper
Fair Play Award

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Iran Likely to Meet Russia in 2023 CAFA Championship". Archived from the original on 2023-03-19. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  2. ^ "اتحادیه فوتبال آسیای مرکزی ایجاد شد" (in Persian). BBC. 22 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  3. ^ "'Central Zone' gets thumbs up from Tajikistan". The AFC. 10 June 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  4. ^ "AFC adds a fifth zone as Extraordinary Congress approves amendments to AFC Statutes". The AFC. 12 January 2015. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Central Asians meet Sheikh Salman to create CAFA". aff.org.af. 17 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Russia invited to play in Central Asian soccer tournament". Reuters. 14 March 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  7. ^ "Iran to participate in first senior men's CAFA tournament in June 2023 – PersianFootball.com". Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  8. ^ Lowe, Martin [@Martin_Lowe_] (March 13, 2023). "Bishkek 🇰🇬 & Tashkent 🇺🇿 will host the group stage; 2 x four teams, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan + two guests. The two invited guests are Russia & Thailand, yet China is also interested. Tashkent will host the final & third place playoff" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Iran to participate in four-nation football tournament [Report] – PersianFootball.com". Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Doubts over Russia participation as CAFA Championship set to reveal line-up". 15 April 2023. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-04-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2023-04-21. Retrieved 2023-04-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ Lowe, Martin [@Martin_Lowe_] (April 19, 2023). "Russia confirm they will not participate in this year's upcoming CAFA Championship. "The decision was due to the timing of the tournament, coinciding with domestic competitions, including the final of the Russian Football Cup." - RFU spokesman https://t.co/XN6GUR4TFS" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ a b Lowe, Martin [@Martin_Lowe_] (April 24, 2023). "June's CAFA Nations Cup 2023, will be drawn on Wednesday. Pot 1 - Iran & Uzbekistan (Group A host) Pot 2 - Kyrgyzstan (Group B host) & Tajikistan Pot 3 - Turkmenistan & Afghanistan Pot 4 - Oman Hopes of an 8th team were dashed after Russia declined the invitation" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Lowe, Martin [@Martin_Lowe_] (March 28, 2023). "Thailand have turned down their invitation to join June's CAFA Championship. Oman now look in pole position to complete the tournament's line-up. Participation deadline is 31 March" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Central Asian Football Association on Instagram: "It's our great pleasure to announce about upcoming first ever CAFA Senior Championship in history of Central Asian Football Association 🤩 CAFA Nations Cup 2023⚽️ Participating teams: 🇦🇫 Afghanistan 🇮🇷 I.R. Iran 🇰🇬 Kyrgyz Republic 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan 🇺🇿Uzbekistan 🇴🇲Oman Draw Ceremony for the competition will be held as follows : 📆 Wednesday, 26 April 2023 ⏰14:00 (Dushanbe local time,GMT+5) 📺 CAFA YouTube Channel Teams drawn in group B will play their matches on 10,13 and 16 of June, while group a matches will be played on 11, 14, and 17 June accordingly. Final match and match for the third place will be played on 20th of June in capital city of 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan. We will keep update you with further information 🔜 #CafaNationsCup"". Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  17. ^ "1XBET betting company is the general sponsor of the upcoming CAFA NATIONS CUP 2023 tournament". Central Asian Football Association. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Competition Regulations CAFA Nations Cup 2023" (PDF). CAFA. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Decisions of the CAFA Executive Committee". CAFA. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Winner of the historic CAFA Nations Cup 2023 is I.R. Iran national team". CAFA. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
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