2014 AFC Challenge Cup Final
The National Football Stadium where it was held.
Event2014 AFC Challenge Cup
Palestine Philippines
State of Palestine Philippines
1 0
Date30 May 2014
VenueNational Football Stadium, Malé
RefereeValentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)
Attendance6,500
WeatherCloudy
28 °C (82 °F)[1]

The 2014 AFC Challenge Cup Final was an association football match between Palestine and the Philippines on 30 May 2014 at the National Football Stadium in Malé, Maldives.

Background

The AFC Challenge Cup was an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) nations that was categorized as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" program.[2] It was an idea by former AFC president, Mohammed Bin Hammam which its goal to raise the standards of Asian football at all levels.[2] The AFC Challenge Cup, which reflected the philosophy of "Vision Asia", was created for teams to experience playing in a continental competition with the possibility to win an AFC trophy and potentially discover new talent.[3] It was held in every two years as its inaugural edition took place on 2006 in Bangladesh.[4] This 2014 Challenge Cup was the last season, due to the expansion of participating national teams in the AFC Asian Cup from 16 to 24.[5] Maldives won the hosting rights, with two renovated stadiums (Addu Football Stadium and National Football Stadium) were used as venues in the tournament.[6][7] The winner qualifies for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.[8]

The two countries met twice before the finals match.[9] Their first meeting was in the qualification phase of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup on 23 March 2011 which ended in a goalless draw.[10] While their second match together was at the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup third-place playoff, where the Filipinos won the game, 4–3.[11] That result causes the Philippines to grab their best finish yet in a major tournament and in the Challenge Cup.[12] Michael Weiss, then head coach of the Philippines congratulated his team by "showing their fighting spirit" throughout the game.[13] He later admitted that "[he did not] expected the match to go that way".[14] While, Palestine head coach Jamal Mahmoud described their last game against them was "the worst game that we ever played in international football".[13][15] Like the Philippines, Palestine also made history as they were the first West Asian team to be in the knockout stage of the tournament.[16] The Philippines were considered the "favorites" heading towards the game. Goal.com predicted that the Filipinos were more likely to beat Palestine in a 2–1 scoreline.[17]

Route to the final

Before going to the main contest proper, all participating countries except Maldives competed in a qualifying round.[18] Twenty nations confirmed their interest to take part in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers[19] with Brunei withdrawing a day before the qualifiers citing "unavoidable circumstances".[20] The winner of each group, and the best and better ranked second placed teams qualified for the AFC Challenge Cup proper. The teams in the group stages was trimmed down to eight, with the first and second ranked teams of each group advancing to the knockout stage.[18]

 Palestine Round  Philippines
AFC Challenge Cup
Opponent Result Qualifying round Opponent Result
 Bangladesh 1–0 Qualifying Matchday 1  Brunei Cancelled
 Northern Mariana Islands 9–0 Qualifying Matchday 2  Cambodia 8–0
   Nepal 0–0 Qualifying Matchday 3  Turkmenistan 1–0
Group D first place

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Palestine 3 2 1 0 10 0 +10 7
 Bangladesh 3 2 0 1 6 1 +5 6
   Nepal 3 1 1 1 6 2 +4 4
 Northern Mariana Islands 3 0 0 3 0 19 −19 0
Source: RSSSF
 Qualifying round standings Group E first place

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Philippines 2 2 0 0 9 0 +9 6
 Turkmenistan 2 1 0 1 7 1 +6 3
 Cambodia 2 0 0 2 0 15 −15 0
Source: RSSSF
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
 Kyrgyzstan 1–0 Matchday 1  Afghanistan 0–0
 Myanmar 2–0 Matchday 2  Laos 2–0
 Maldives 0–0 Matchday 3  Turkmenistan 2–0
Group A first place

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Palestine 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7
 Maldives (H) 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
 Kyrgyzstan 3 1 0 2 1 3 −2 3
 Myanmar 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
Source: RSSSF
(H) Hosts
 Final standings Group B first place

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Philippines 3 2 1 0 4 0 +4 7
 Afghanistan 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 5
 Turkmenistan 3 1 0 2 6 6 0 3
 Laos 3 0 1 2 1 7 −6 1
Source: RSSSF
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
 Afghanistan 2–0 Semi-finals  Maldives 3–2 (aet)

Match

Palestine 1–0 Philippines
Nu'man 64' Report
Attendance: 6,300
Palestine
Philippines
GK21Ramzi Saleh (c)
DF2Raed Fares
DF15Abdelatif Bahdari
DF16Haytham Theeb
MF14Abdullah Jaber
MF19Abdelhamid AbuhabibYellow card 83'downward-facing red arrow 86'
MF20Khader Yousef
MF23Murad Ismail Said
MF8Hilal Musadownward-facing red arrow 77'
FW10Imad Zataradownward-facing red arrow 90+1'
FW7Ashraf Nu'manYellow card 90+4'
Substitutes:
GK1Tawfiq Ali
GK22Ghanem Mahajneh
DF3Hussam Abu Salehupward-facing green arrow 77'
DF5Omar Jarunupward-facing green arrow 90+1'
DF6Mousa Abu Jazarupward-facing green arrow 86'
DF13Khaled Mahdi
DF18Mus'ab Al-Batat
FW9Tamer Seyam
FW11Ahmad Maher Wridat
FW17Rami Musalmeh
Head coach:
Jordan Jamal Mahmoud
Manager:
Abdallah Alfara
GK15Roland Müller
RB23Simone Rotadownward-facing red arrow 82'
CB12Amani Aguinaldo
CB2Rob Gier (c)
LB21Martin SteubleYellow card 90+5'
RM11Patrick ReicheltYellow card 69'
CM6Jason de Jong
LM3Daisuke Sato
AM22Paul Muldersdownward-facing red arrow 73'
AM17Stephan Schröckdownward-facing red arrow 46'
CF10Phil Younghusband
Substitutes:
GK1Neil Etheridge
GK16Patrick Deyto
DF4Anton del Rosario
DF5Juan Guirado
MF7James Younghusband
MF14Simon Greatwich
MF18Chris Greatwich
MF19Jerry Lucenaupward-facing green arrow 46'
MF20OJ Porteriaupward-facing green arrow 73'
FW9Kenshiro Danielsupward-facing green arrow 82'
FW13Ruben Doctora
Head coach:
United States Thomas Dooley
Manager:
Dan Palami

Assistant referees:
Rafael Ilyasov (Uzbekistan)
Lee Jung-min (South Korea)
Fourth official:
Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

Match rules[18]

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Maximum of twelve named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

References

  1. ↑ "History for Malé, Maldives". Weather Underground. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Vision Asia Philosophy". Asian Football Confederation. 31 August 2007. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "AFC Challenge Cup in 2006 Competition Information". Asian Football Confederation. 5 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "AFC Challenge Cup opening ceremony in Bangladesh". Asian Football Confederation. 28 November 2005. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Revamp of AFC competitions". Asian Football Confederation. 25 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Maldives to Host 2014 AFC Challenge Cup". Asian Football Confederation. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Zone Stadium rebranded as Addu Football Stadium". Sun Online. 18 May 2014. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 preliminary draw results". Asian Football Confederation. 9 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Head to Head Stats of Palestine v. Philippines". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Philippines 0–0 Palestine". Asian Football Confederation. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Live Commentary of Philippines v. Palestine (2012)". Goal. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "PHL Azkals seize 3rd place in AFC Challenge Cup with 4-3 win vs. Palestine". GMA News Online. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  13. 1 2 Naredo, Camille (19 March 2012). "Azkals make history, finish 3rd in Challenge Cup". ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Weiss Gripped by Third Place Thriller". Asian Football Confederation. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "We saved our worst for last!". Asian Football Confederation. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  16. ↑ Gutierrez, Natashya (26 June 2012). "Azkals bring home bronze, pride for PH". Rappler. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "Preview Report of Palestine v. Philippines (2014)". Goal. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  18. 1 2 3 "AFC Challenge Cup 2014 Competition Regulations" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. pp. 18–19, 25. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Northern Mariana Debuts in Challenge Cup". Asian Football Confederation. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  20. ↑ Begawan, Bandar (21 March 2013). "Brunei Withdraw from AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers". ASEAN Football Federation. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
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