Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Melbourne: Ahead of Friday's opening game in the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 between the host nation and Kuwait, come with the-afc.com as we journey down memory lane to 1980 - a year which saw the West Asians crowned champions of Asia.
The seventh edition of the AFC Asian Cup was held in Kuwait and, given its growing stature, saw an expanded tournament with ten teams taking part.
Defending champions Iran, who had won the previous three editions, entered the campaign as firm favourites and were drawn alongside DPR Korea, Syria, China and Bangladesh in Group A.
However, they got off to a slow start and a 0-0 stalemate against Syria in their opening match was followed by a 2-2 draw against China, where they threw away a two-goal lead handed to them by Hamid Alidoosti (25’) and Behtash Fariba (55’) as their opponents netted through efforts from Chen Jingang (75’) and Cai Jinbiao (90’) to earn a share of the spoils.
In fact, it was DPR Korea who made the early running after claiming victories over Bangladesh and the Chinese in their first two outings.
The Iranians did manage to get back on track when they took on the Bangladeshis and cruised to a 7-0 triumph; Fariba putting in a man-of-the-match display with four goals to fuel his side’s return to winning ways.
Team Melli duly sealed seal their place in the knockout phase after finishing the group stage with a 3-2 triumph over the North Koreans, who also advanced on the final day after defeating Syria 2-1.
Over in Group B, Korea Republic overcame a minor blip after being held to a 1-1 draw by Malaysia in their opening match to record solid 2-0 and 3-0 victories over Qatar and Kuwait respectively.
The situation was not as simple for the Kuwaitis however, as they won just one of their first three games, meaning their final match against the Qatar side loomed as a do-or-die encounter.
In the end, the hosts did what was required of them to book their berth in the last four after cruising to a 4-0 win; Faisal Al-Dakhil (23’, 57’) leading the way with a well-taken brace while Jasem Yaqoub (49’) and Abdulaziz Al-Anberi (66’) were also on target.
The South Koreans also finished off convincingly with a 4-1 rout of United Arab Emirates to seal top spot in the group, which set up an eagerly anticipated semi-final clash with neighbours DPR Korea.
And it was the North Koreans who drew first blood when Pak Jong Hun opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 19 minutes, only for Jung Hae Won to net the equaliser in the 80th minute.
Just when it looked like extra-time was on the cards, Jung scored again with a minute remaining to send Korea Republic through to their second final in three tournaments.
In the other last-four clash, it was not to be for Iran as their hopes of a fourth straight title were dashed following a 2-1 defeat to the Kuwaitis.
Following a goalless first half, the hosts claimed a two-goal lead courtesy of goals from Yaqoub (63’) and Al-Dakhil (85’), although Hossein Faraki did grab a 90th-minute consolation for their opponents.
On September 30, 1980, in front of 25,000 fans at the Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, a new champion of Asia was crowned when Kuwait claimed a rousing 3-0 win over Korea Republic for their first title.
Sa’ad Al-Houti got Kuwait on their way after firing them in front in the eighth minute, before Al-Dakhil (34’, 68’) netted a double to put the result beyond doubt.
Iran did give their fans something to cheer about after beating DPR Korea 3-0 in the third-place play-off, with goals coming from Fariba (48’) and Faraki (66’, 69’).