1956 AFC Asian Cup
Asian Cup Hong Kong 1956
1956年亞洲盃足球賽
South Korea, the winner of 1956 AFC Asian Cup, at Hong Kong Stadium
Tournament details
Host countryHong Kong
Dates1–15 September
Teams4
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions South Korea (1st title)
Runners-up Israel
Third place Hong Kong
Fourth place South Vietnam
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Goals scored27 (4.5 per match)
Attendance136,000 (22,667 per match)
Top scorer(s)Israel Nahum Stelmach
(4 goals)
1960 →

The 1956 AFC Asian Cup was the first AFC Asian Cup, held every four years and organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The final tournament was held in Hong Kong from 1 September to 15 September 1956 as a four-team round-robin competition with no final. It was won by South Korea.[1][2]

An unusual ruling meant that all games were 80 minutes long, with an extra 30 minutes extra time if the game was drawn at full time (although this didn’t happen due to bad light).[3]

Venues

Hong Kong
Government Stadium
Capacity: 28,000

Qualification

Main article: 1956 AFC Asian Cup qualification
  Qualified
  Did not qualify
  Withdrew before playing any matches
  Did not enter
  Not an AFC member
Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearance
 Hong Kong Hosts N/A 0 (debut)
 South Vietnam Central Zone winners 24 May 1956 0 (debut)
 South Korea Eastern Zone winners 2 September 1956 0 (debut)
 Israel Western Zone winners (Automatically qualified since other nations withdrew) 1956 0 (debut)

Squads

Main article: 1956 AFC Asian Cup squads

Results

All times are Hong Kong Time (UTC+8)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 3 2 1 0 9 6 +3 5 Champions
2  Israel 3 2 0 1 6 5 +1 4 Runners-up
3  Hong Kong (H) 3 0 2 1 6 7 −1 2 Third place
4  South Vietnam 3 0 1 2 6 9 −3 1 Fourth place
Source: RSSSF
(H) Hosts
Hong Kong 2–3 Israel
Au Chi Yin [zh] 12', 66' Glazer 37', 76'
Stelmach 69'
Government Stadium, Hong kong
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: H.A. Sheppard (England)
South Korea 2–2 Hong Kong
Kim Ji-sung 45'
Sung Nak-woon 62'		 Tang Yee Kit [zh] 10'
Ko Po Keung [zh] 39'
Government Stadium, Hong kong
Attendance: 25,000
Israel 1–2 South Korea
Stelmach 71' Woo Sang-kwon 52'
Sung Nak-woon 64'
Government Stadium, Hong kong
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Trương Văn Ky (South Vietnam)
South Vietnam 2–2 Hong Kong
Trần Văn Tổng 30'
Lê Hữu Đức 64'		 Chu Wing Wah [zh] 59' (pen.)
Lau Chi Lam [zh] 79'
Government Stadium, Hong kong
Attendance: 20,000
Israel 2–1 South Vietnam
Stelmach 14', 27' Trần Văn Tổng 58'
Government Stadium, Hong kong
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Tommy Tucker (England)
South Korea 5–3 South Vietnam
Sung Nak-woon 5'
Woo Sang-kwon 41' (pen.), 58'
Choi Chung-min 57', 66'		 Trải Văn Đào 20'
Lê Hữu Đức 51', 63'
Government Stadium, Hong kong
Attendance: 13,000

Winners

 AFC Asian Cup 1956 winners 

South Korea
First title

Goalscorers

With four goals, Nahum Stelmach is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 27 goals were scored by 15 different players, with none of them credited as own goal.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

References

  1. ^ "Asian Cup: Know Your History - Part One (1956-1988) | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  2. ^ "1956 AFC Asian Cup". Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Inside World Football - Asian Cup 1956". Retrieved 13 June 2023.
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