Syria during the 2019 Asian Cup match against Palestine.

Syria has been a major participant in the AFC Asian Cup with seven appearances in the tournament, in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2019, and 2023. At 2023 Asian Cup, Omar Khribin scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over India, which granted Syria its first win in the competition since 2011, and first ever qualification to the knockout phase as one of the best third-placed teams.[1]

Until 2024, Syria have never qualified past the group stage in the Asian Cup, with them narrowly missing out on the knock-out stage in 1980 and knock-out stage in 1996 due to 1 missed point; both eliminations involved China national football team.

AFC Asian Cup record

1980 Kuwait

Main article: 1980 AFC Asian Cup

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Iran 4 2 2 0 12 4 +8 6
 North Korea 4 3 0 1 9 7 +2 6
 Syria 4 2 1 1 3 2 +1 5
 China 4 1 1 2 9 5 +4 3
 Bangladesh 4 0 0 4 2 17 −15 0
Iran 0–0 Syria
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
Attendance: 15,000
Bangladesh 0–1 Syria
Keshek 7'
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
Syria 1–0 China
Keshek 86'
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
North Korea 2–1 Syria
Suleiman
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City

1984 Singapore

Main article: 1984 AFC Asian Cup

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Saudi Arabia 4 2 2 0 4 2 +2 6
 Kuwait 4 2 1 1 4 2 +2 5
 Qatar 4 1 2 1 3 3 0 4
 Syria 4 1 1 2 3 5 −2 3
 South Korea 4 0 2 2 1 3 −2 2
Qatar 1–1 Syria
Khalfan 7' Anber 47' (o.g.)
National Stadium, Singapore
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Antonio Márquez (Mexico)
Syria 0–1 Saudi Arabia
Khalifa 66'
National Stadium, Singapore
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Shizuo Takada (Japan)
Syria 1–0 South Korea
Hassan 12'
National Stadium, Singapore
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: George Courtney (England)
Kuwait 3–1 Syria
Mahrous 66' (o.g.)
Al-Dakhil 77'
A. Al-Buloushi 79'		 Abu Al-Sel 5'
National Stadium, Singapore
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Cheung Kwok Kui (Hong Kong)

1988 Qatar

Main article: 1988 AFC Asian Cup

Group B

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Saudi Arabia 6 4 2 2 0 4 1 +3
 China 5 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3
 Syria 4 4 2 0 2 2 5 −3
 Kuwait 3 4 0 3 1 2 3 −1
 Bahrain 2 4 0 2 2 1 3 −2
Syria 0–2 Saudi Arabia
Report Al-Mutlaq 20'
Al-Suwaiyed 82'
Qatar SC Stadium, Doha
Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden)
China 3–0 Syria
Gao Sheng 13'
Xie Yuxin 14', 19'		 Report
Qatar SC Stadium, Doha
Referee: Mohamed Hansal (Algeria)
Syria 1–0 Kuwait
Al-Nasser 63' Report
Al-Ahly Stadium, Doha
Referee: Yusuf Namoğlu (Turkey)
Bahrain 0–1 Syria
Report Abu Al-Sel 72' (pen.)
Qatar SC Stadium, Doha
Referee: Michel Vautrot (France)

1996 United Arab Emirates

Main article: 1996 AFC Asian Cup

Group C

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Japan 9 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6
 China 3 3 1 0 2 3 3 0
 Syria 3 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3
 Uzbekistan 3 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3
Japan 2–1 Syria
Abbas 85' (o.g.)
Takagi 88'		 Report Jokhadar 8'
Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Mohd Nazri Abdullah (Malaysia)
Syria 0–3 China
Report Ma Mingyu 35'
Gao Feng 49'
Li Bing 73'
Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Kim Young-Joo (South Korea)
Uzbekistan 1–2 Syria
Lebedev 53' (pen.) Report Jokhadar 48'
Dib 74'
Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)

2011 Qatar

Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup

Group B

Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group B
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Japan 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7
 Jordan 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7
 Syria 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
 Saudi Arabia 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0
9 January 2011
Saudi Arabia  1–2  Syria[2]
13 January 2011
Syria  1–2  Japan[3]
17 January 2011
Jordan  2–1  Syria

2019 United Arab Emirates

Main article: 2019 AFC Asian Cup

Group B

Main article: 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group B
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Jordan 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Australia 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6
3  Palestine 3 0 2 1 0 3 −3 2
4  Syria 3 0 1 2 2 5 −3 1
Source: AFC
Syria 0–0 Palestine
Report
Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah
Attendance: 8,471
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Jordan 2–0 Syria
 Report
Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
Attendance: 9,152
Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)
Australia 3–2 Syria
 Report
Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
Attendance: 10,492
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)

2023 Qatar

Main article: 2023 AFC Asian Cup

Group B

Main article: 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group B
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Australia 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Uzbekistan 3 1 2 0 4 1 +3 5
3  Syria 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
4  India 3 0 0 3 0 6 −6 0
Source: AFC
Uzbekistan 0–0 Syria
Report
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Attendance: 10,198
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Syria 0–1 Australia
Report
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan
Attendance: 10,097
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Syria 1–0 India
 Report
Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Attendance: 42,787
Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)
Ranking of third-placed teams
Pos Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 E  Jordan 3 1 1 1 6 3 +3 4 Advance to knockout stage
2 C  Palestine 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
3 B  Syria 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
4 D  Indonesia 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 3
5 F  Oman 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
6 A  China 3 0 2 1 0 1 −1 2
Source: AFC

Knockout stage

Main article: 2023 AFC Asian Cup knockout stage
Round of 16
Iran 1–1 (a.e.t.) Syria
 Report
Penalties
 5–3
Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Attendance: 8,720
Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

Overall record

See also: Syria national football team records and statistics
AFC Asian Cup record AFC Asian Cup qualification record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
Hong Kong 1956 Did not enter Declined participation
South Korea 1960
Israel 1964
Iran 1968
Thailand 1972 Did not qualify 3 0 2 1 4 5
Iran 1976 Withdrew Withdrew
Kuwait 1980 Round 1 4 2 1 1 3 2 3 2 1 0 2 0
Singapore 1984 Round 1 4 1 1 2 3 5 5 3 0 2 9 8
Qatar 1988 Round 1 4 2 0 2 2 5 4 3 1 0 8 2
Japan 1992 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 3 4
United Arab Emirates 1996 Round 1 3 1 0 2 3 6 4 3 0 1 6 2
Lebanon 2000 Did not qualify 6 4 1 1 11 3
China 2004 6 2 1 3 16 10
Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Vietnam 2007 6 2 2 2 10 6
Qatar 2011 Round 1 3 1 0 2 4 5 6 4 2 0 10 2
Australia 2015 Did not qualify 6 1 1 4 7 7
United Arab Emirates 2019 Round 1 3 0 1 2 2 5 8 6 0 2 26 11
Qatar 2023 Round of 16 4 1 2 1 2 2 8 7 0 1 22 7
Saudi Arabia 2027 To be determined 4 2 1 1 9 6
Total Round of 16 25 8 5 12 19 30 72 40 13 20 143 74

Record by opponent

As of 31 January 2024
AFC Asian Cup matches (by team)
Opponent Played Wins Draws Losses Goals Scored Goals Conceded Last Win
 South Korea 1 1 0 0 1 0 1984
 Iran 2 0 2 0 1 1 DNW
 Bangladesh 1 1 0 0 1 0 1980
 Bahrain 1 1 0 0 1 0 1988
 Kuwait 2 1 0 1 2 3 1988
 China 3 1 0 2 1 6 1980
 Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 2 4 2011
 Japan 2 0 0 2 2 4 DNW
 Uzbekistan 2 1 1 0 2 1 1996
 Australia 2 0 0 2 2 4 DNW
 North Korea 1 0 0 1 1 2 DNW
 Jordan 2 0 0 2 1 4 DNW
 Palestine 1 0 1 0 0 0 DNW
 Qatar 1 0 1 0 1 1 DNW
 India 1 1 0 0 1 0 2023

Record results

Syria's Asian Cup record
First match  Iran 0–0 Syria 
(17 September 1980; Kuwait City, Kuwait)
Biggest win  Uzbekistan 1–2 Syria 
(12 December 1996; Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)
 Saudi Arabia 1–2 Syria 
(9 January 2011; Al Rayyan, Qatar)
 Syria 1–0 India 
(23 January 2024; Al Khor, Qatar)
Biggest defeat  China 3–0 Syria 
(4 December 1988; Doha, Qatar)
 China 3–0 Syria 
(9 December 1996; Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)
Best result Round of 16 (2023)
Worst result Group stage (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2019)

Goalscorers

See also: Syria national football team records and statistics
Player Goals 1980 1984 1988 1996 2011 2019 2023
Omar Khribin 3 1 2
Walid Abu Al-Sel 2 1 1
Jamal Keshek 2 2
Nader Joukhadar 2 2
Abdelrazaq Al-Hussain 2 2
Total 11 2 1 1 2 2 1 2

References

  1. ^ "Syria beat India to reach Asian Cup knockouts for first time". France 24. 23 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Syria shock Saudi Arabia at Asian Cup; Japan snatch draw". edition.cnn.com.
  3. ^ "Syria vs Japan Report - Goal.com". Archived from the original on 2011-03-17. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  4. ^ "AFC Competition Operations Manual (Edition 2023)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation.
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