TECHNICAL REPORT & STATISTICS AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP OMAN 2013 11th – 26th January 2014 11th – 26th January 2014 TECHNICAL REPORT & STATISTICS AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP OMAN 2013 CONTENTS 1 2 3 4 GENERAL TOURNAMENT ANALYSIS STATISTICS & TEAM DATA TOURNAMENT INFORMATION Host City Information 10 Technical Analysis 16 Results and Ranking 34 Qualifiers 100 Tournament Overview 12 Story of the Tournament 18 Awards 38 Venues 104 Medical Report 26 Match Data 40 AFC Delegation 106 Refereeing Report 28 Technical Statistics 56 Technical Study Group (TSG) 107 Team Data and Analysis 66 4 5 AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP OMAN 2013 MESSAGE FROM AFC PRESIDENT SHAIKH SALMAN BIN EBRAHIM AL KHALIFA Dear friends, The AFC U-22 Championship in Muscat, Oman 2013 gave us great excitement from the beginning to the very last match, but more importantly, it serves to provide us with evidence of the positive prospects we have in the game. The establishment of the AFC U22 Championship is two-fold: to provide the platform for players who have finished their youth training to transition to the senior level; and to serve as the qualifying competition to determine Asia’s representatives in the Olympics. Congratulations to the winners Iraq, who won the competition due to their discipline, teamwork and strong tactical understanding. The historical win though was not without a determined challenge from fellow finalists Saudi Arabia. In the end, Iraq’s perfect record in the competition was telling, as they continued their rich vein of form of the past few years. All in all, the inaugural competition was very well contested and traditional powerhouses like Japan, Korea Republic and Iran were given strong challenges by other up-and-coming nations. The U-22 is a vital age group as it is the last stage before these players carry Asia’s hope at the international stage amongst the senior members. Judging from the competition, signs are encouraging for Asia, as the performances support the notion that Asian football is getting increasingly competitive and unpredictable. I cannot stress enough the importance of having our Member Associations strongly challenging one another as it will certainly strengthen every member in the long run. Now, I urge all teams to start preparations for the next edition of the competition which will have even higher stakes with the 2016 Olympics berths on offer. Therefore, please make use of this Technical Report as a means to analyse all elements of the game that can be further improved or rectified.You will definitely find this report useful. Lastly, my appreciation as well to the Oman Football Association, that has set the benchmark for future U-22 Championships. The success of this tournament is also down to the efforts of OFA and the Local Organising Committee. Thank you. Sincerely, Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa AFC President FIFA Executive Committee Member 6 7 AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP OMAN 2013 GENERAL Host City Information Tournament Overview 8 9 AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP OMAN 2013 GENERAL ● HOST CITY INFORMATION Muscat, Oman Muscat is the capital and the largest city of Oman with and motor vehicles. The Mina Sultan Qaboos is now the an estimated population of 1.2 million. Its area spans premier trading port in the Gulf region with about 44 million approximately 1,500 square kilometres and the skyline tons of traded cargo annually. is characterised by low and generally white buildings, including hotels and residential and government properties. Muscat has the Seeb International Airport that makes it the The architectural design is reminiscent of regional historic international gateway of Oman. It has paved roads in most styles. The main streets that link the various districts are areas and highways that connect Oman’s major cities and lined with trees, and the traffic roundabouts and public towns. Transport around Muscat includes the popular but parks are adorned with grass, shrubs and flowers. inexpensive “Baiza” buses, the bigger red-green public buses and the orange-white taxis. Trade drives the economy of Muscat, and traditional exports include dates, mother of pearl and fish. Petroleum In terms of sporting events, Muscat is no stranger to Development Oman is at the heart of the nation’s economy hosting major footballing events, as it was the venue with a production of about 720,000 barrels per day. Other for the 1984, 1996 and 2009 editions of the Gulf Cup of major companies in Muscat deal in electronics, watches Nations. 10 11 AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP OMAN 2013 GENERAL ● TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW he AFC U-22 Championship is the latest tournament to July 15, 2012 and featured 23 teams four for the West victorious. Saudi Arabia and Iraq of Group D upstaged introduced by the Asian Football Confederation for Zone and 18 teams in three groups for the East Zone. The Japan and Australia of Group C, respectively, in the other Tthe Under-22 men’s national teams which, in effect, top two teams and the best third-placed team of the one- quarter-final matches. supplements the AFC U-16 and AFC U-19 Championships round league group qualifiers advanced to the finals to to complete the structured development path for the join Oman, the eventual hosts of the championship. In the semi-finals, Iraq beat Korea Republic to arrange a talented and young Asian football players. final showdown with Saudi Arabia who beat Jordan. Originally scheduled to be held in 2013, the AFC U22 Deemed as the second biggest national team competition Championship Oman 2013, took place in Muscat, Oman Jordan showed nerves of steel to defeat Korea Republic after the AFC Asian Cup, the AFC U-22 Championship will from January 11– 26, 2014 featuring 16 teams in four in a penalty shootout in the match for third place following be held once every two years. Every alternate edition of groups with the top two teams in each group advancing a goalless draw. the Championship will serve as the qualifying tournament to the quarter finals. for the Olympics starting with the 2016 Brazil Olympics. Iraq’s solitary goal scored in the first half secured them Jordan and Korea Republic of Group A faced the United the victory against Saudi Arabia in the exciting final match A total of 41 countries took part in the inaugural AFC U-22 Arab Emirates and Syria of Group B, respectively, in the to be crowned champions of the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship 2013 qualifiers during the period June 23 quarter-finals with Jordan and Korea Republic emerging Championship Oman 2013. 12 13 AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP OMAN 2013 TOURNAMENT ANALYSIS Technical Analysis Story of the Tournament Medical Report Refereeing Report 14 15 AFC U-22 CHAMPIONSHIP OMAN 2013 TOURNAMENT ANALYSIS ● TECHNICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEMS OF PLAY: MIDFIELD: ATTACKING: Ten teams, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, preferred the Teams did as much as possible to have a compact midfield The teams with a single centre forward had a playmaker or a 1-4-2-3-1 team formation at the AFC U-22 Championship. Five to ensure ball possession, to apply immediate pressure on second deeper-lying striker to support the centre forward to teams, including Iraq and Korea Republic, used the 1-4-4-2 set- opponents to regain possession, and fill the strategically receive layoffs and to play combination passes. up. Only Yemen relied on the 1-3-5-2 formation. important wide positions. A striker also dropped back to boost numbers in the middle. The teams with two forwards had one forward positioned As the game progressed, teams moved differently largely because slightly behind who moved around the other. One forward was of the quality of the players selected. Although the teams had Midfield organisation varied from one team to the next, however, designated to have a defensive role by pressing the opponents’ their basic formation, teams showed flexibility in their formation. often for tactical reasons but also because of each team’s playing defenders. Changes in the formation were influenced by the game situation style (attacking with careful build-up play or using a counter- and by the style of play of the opponents. These changes were attacking style). Building up of play in the midfield was done Two modes of counterattacking displayed were the immediate made on a game-to-game basis. through a varied combination passes. long ball to the single forward or the front forward in the case of having two forwards and the quick combination play attacking The teams that used the 1-4-2-3-1 formation had two defensive pattern. DEFENDING: midfielders behind a line of three which is composed of the flank players and the playmaker. The playmaker would be level with When the build up from the back was met by immediate The teams used a zonal flat back four in which each player the flank players when defending but would be supporting the pressurising defence, some teams opted for the long ball to the covers each other and moves around depending on the position striker when in attack. forward or forwards while some other teams had the option to of the ball or utilising defenders tasked to mark within the zone. use quick combination play with the midfielders to switch plays Other teams designated two players marking the attackers with or go forward through the middle or the flanks. one in a covering and supporting position. Playing offside was not used as a tactical move as teams had GOALKEEPING: a strong player manning the centre. The best teams in the competition made effective use of the full-backs who played up The goalkeepers in this tournament were adept in supporting their and down the flanks.