2012 WAFF Championship
The 2012 WAFF Championship was the 7th WAFF Championship, an international tournament for member nations of the West Asian Football Federation. It was hosted by Kuwait from 8 to 20 December 2012.[2][3] The defending champions were Kuwait. However, they did not get past the group stage. The tournament was won by Syria for the first time.
| 7th "WAFF" Championship for men[1] | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Kuwait |
| Dates | 8–20 December |
| Teams | 11 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Syria (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Iraq |
| Third place |  Oman |
| Fourth place |  Bahrain |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 19 |
| Goals scored | 31 (1.63 per match) |
| Attendance | 32,950 (1,734 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Qasim Said Ahmad Al Douni (4 goals each) |
Participants
11 members from 13 members of WAFF participated in this tournament.
| Country | Appearance | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|
| Bahrain |
2nd | Group stage (2010) |
 Iran |
7th | Champions (2000, 2004, 2007, 2008) |
| Iraq |
6th | Champions (2002) |
 Jordan |
7th | Runners-up (2002, 2008) |
 Kuwait (hosts) |
2nd | Champions (2010) |
 Lebanon |
5th | Group stage (2000, 2002, 2004, 2007) |
| Oman |
3rd | Group Stage (2008, 2010) |
 Palestine |
7th | Group stage (2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010) |
 Saudi Arabia |
1st | None |
| Syria |
7th | Runners-up (2000, 2004) |
 Yemen |
2nd | Semi-finals (2010) |
Note:
Qatar and 
United Arab Emirates did not enter.
Venues
| Kuwait City | Al-Farwaniyah | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium | Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah Stadium | |
| Capacity: 21,500 | Capacity: 10,000 | |
 |
 | |
Draw of participating teams
The draw took place on 16 September 2012 in Kuwait City, Kuwait.[4][5] The eleven teams were drawn into three groups based on team rankings. Two groups include four teams and one group has three teams.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
- Did not enter
Qatar and United Arab Emirates did not enter.
Squads
Tournament
- All times listed are (UTC+3)
Group stage
| Key to colours in group tables |
|---|
| Group winners and best runner-up advance to the semi-finals |
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oman |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
| Kuwait (H) |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Palestine |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 |
| Lebanon |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
(H) Hosts
| Lebanon | 0–1 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Abugharqud  74' |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrain |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 7 |
| Iran |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 |
| Saudi Arabia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Yemen |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
| Iran | 0–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Bahrain | 1–0 | Yemen |
|---|---|---|
| Okwunwanne 87' |
Report |
| Yemen | 0–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Otayf 39' |
| Bahrain | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Okwunwanne 77' |
Report |
Group C
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syria |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| Iraq |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Jordan |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
| Jordan | 1–2 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Bani Attiah 22' |
Report | Al Douni 62', 82' |
Ranking of second-placed teams
At the end of the group stage, a comparison will be made between the second-placed teams of each group. Matches against the fourth-placed team in Group A and B group are not included in this ranking. The best second-placed team advance to the semifinals.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iraq |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Kuwait |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
| Iran |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 18 December – Al Farwaniyah | ||||||
| Oman | 0 | |||||
| 20 December – Kuwait City | ||||||
| Iraq | 2 | |||||
| Iraq | 0 | |||||
| 18 December – Kuwait City | ||||||
| Syria | 1 | |||||
| Bahrain | 1 (2) | |||||
| Syria (pen.) | 1 (3) | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 20 December – Al Farwaniyah | ||||||
| Oman | 1 | |||||
| Bahrain | 0 | |||||
Champion
| 2012 WAFF Championship champion |
|---|
Syria First title |
References
- "Regulation – 7th "WAFF" Championship for men" (PDF). The-WAFF.com. West Asian Football Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- "بطولة غرب آسيا للرجال تقام في الكويت". Asian Football Confederation. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- "7TH WAFF championship 2012 to be played in Kuwait". West Asian Football Federation. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- "WAFF 7th men Championship draw results". West Asian Football Federation. 16 September 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013.
- زريقات يرأس وفد اتحاد غرب آسيا بقرعة بطولة الرجال في الكويت (in Arabic). كووورة. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.