1972 AFC Asian Cup
| Asian Cup Thailand 1972 เอเชียนคัพ 2515 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Thailand | 
| Dates | 7–19 May | 
| Teams | 6 | 
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | .svg.png) Iran (2nd title) | 
| Runners-up | .svg.png) South Korea | 
| Third place |  Thailand | 
| Fourth place |  Khmer Republic | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 13 | 
| Goals scored | 38 (2.92 per match) | 
| Attendance | 155,000 (11,923 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) | .svg.png) Hossein Kalani (5 goals) | 
| Best player(s) | .svg.png) Ebrahim Ashtiani | 
| ← 1968  1976 →  | |
The 1972 AFC Asian Cup was the 5th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), that was hosted in Thailand. The finals were held in Thailand between 7 May and 19 May 1972. It was won by Iran.[1][2][3]
Qualification
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearance | 
|---|---|---|---|
|  Thailand[note 1] | Hosts and Central Zone winners | 30 May 1971 | 0 (debut) | 
| .svg.png) Iran | 1968 AFC Asian Cup champions | 19 May 1968 | 1 (1968) | 
|  Khmer Republic | Central Zone runners-up | 30 May 1971 | 0 (debut) | 
| .svg.png) South Korea | Eastern zone winners (automatically qualified) | 1971 | 3 (1956, 1960, 1964) | 
| .svg.png) Iraq | Western Zone winners | 22 December 1971 | 0 (debut) | 
|  Kuwait | Western Zone runners-up | 21 December 1971 | 0 (debut) | 
Squads
Venue
| Bangkok | |
|---|---|
| National Stadium | |
| Capacity: 26,000 | |
Group allocation matches
- Winners divided over different groups
| South Korea .svg.png) | 0–0 | .svg.png) Iraq | 
|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||
| Cha Bum-kun  Hwang Jae-man  Park Su-deok  | 2–4 |  Aziz  Nouri  Kadhim  Fathi | 
Attendance: 2,000
| Iran .svg.png) | 2–0 |  Khmer Republic | 
|---|---|---|
| Kalani  45' Iranpak  51' | 
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png) Iran | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 4 | Advance to Knockout stage | 
| 2 |  Thailand (H) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 1 | |
| 3 | .svg.png) Iraq | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 | 
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png) South Korea | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 2 | Advance to Knockout stage | 
| 2 |  Khmer Republic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Kuwait | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 2 | 
Source: RSSSF
| South Korea .svg.png) | 4–1 |  Khmer Republic | 
|---|---|---|
| Park Su-deok  37' Lee Hoi-taek  59' Cha Bum-kun  69' Park Lee-chun  78' | Doeur Sokhom  82' | 
Attendance: 7,000
| South Korea .svg.png) | 1–2 |  Kuwait | 
|---|---|---|
| Park Lee-chun  2' (pen.) | Mohammad Sultan  25' Ibrahim Duraiham  73' | 
Attendance: 10,000
| Khmer Republic  | 4–0 |  Kuwait | 
|---|---|---|
| Doeur Sokhom  23' Sok Sun Hean  56' Tes Sean  59' Sea Cheng Eang  80' | 
Attendance: 1,000
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 16 May–Bangkok | ||||||
| .svg.png) Iran | 2 | |||||
| 19 May–Bangkok | ||||||
|  Khmer Republic | 1 | |||||
| .svg.png) Iran (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||
| 17 May–Bangkok | ||||||
| .svg.png) South Korea | 1 | |||||
| .svg.png) South Korea (pen.) | 1 (2) | |||||
|  Thailand | 1 (1) | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 19 May–Bangkok | ||||||
|  Khmer Republic | 2 (3) | |||||
|  Thailand (pen.) | 2 (5) | |||||
Semi-finals
| Iran .svg.png) | 2–1 |  Khmer Republic | 
|---|---|---|
| Iranpak  13' Ghelichkhani  47' | Doeur Sokhom  18' | 
| South Korea .svg.png) | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |  Thailand | 
|---|---|---|
| Park Lee-chun  115' | Prapon Tantariyanond  98' | |
| Penalties | ||
| 2–1 | ||
Attendance: 20,000
Third place play-off
| Khmer Republic  | 2–2 (a.e.t.) |  Thailand | 
|---|---|---|
| Tol Kimchi  44', 49' | Ich Narding  6', 90+13' | |
| Penalties | ||
| 3–5 | ||
Attendance: 15,000
Final
| Iran .svg.png) | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | .svg.png) South Korea | 
|---|---|---|
| Jabbari  48' Kalani  108' | Park Lee-chun  65' | 
Goalscorers
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
.svg.png) Safar Iranpak Safar Iranpak
 Ich Narding Ich Narding
 Tol Kimchi Tol Kimchi
- 1 goal
.svg.png) Parviz Ghelichkhani Parviz Ghelichkhani
.svg.png) Ammo Yousif Ammo Yousif
 Sea Cheng Eang Sea Cheng Eang
 Sok Sun Hean Sok Sun Hean
 Tes Sean Tes Sean
 Fayez Marzouq Fayez Marzouq
 Ibrahim Duraiham Ibrahim Duraiham
 Jawad Khalaf Jawad Khalaf
 Mohammad Sultan Mohammad Sultan
.svg.png) Cha Bum-Kun Cha Bum-Kun
.svg.png) Lee Hoi-Taek Lee Hoi-Taek
.svg.png) Park Su-Deok Park Su-Deok
 Supakit Meelarpkit Supakit Meelarpkit
Notes
References
- ^ "Asian Cup: Know Your History - Part One (1956-1988)". Goal.com. 2011-01-07. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
- ^ "Asian Cup of Nations 1972; RSSSF". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Shilarze Saha Roy. "Cambodia's football story: From the highs of the 1972 Asian Cup to depths of despair". FIFA. Retrieved 2023-03-19.



