2015 WAFF U-23 Championship
The 2015 WAFF U-23 Championship took place in Doha, Qatar for the first time. Ten nations took part. The competition was held in Doha from 30 September 30 to 14 October with the draw for the tournament on 6 September 2015.[1] Iran won the title after they defeated Syria in the final. This was Iran's last WAFF competition before joining the Central Asian Football Association.
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Qatar |
| Dates | 30 September – 14 October |
| Teams | 10 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Iran (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Syria |
| Third place | Qatar |
| Fourth place |  Yemen |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 49 (3.06 per match) |
| Attendance | 7,550 (472 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Akram Afif (4 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Amir Arsalan Motahari |
The competition was used as a warm up for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship which is also to be held in Qatar. This competition in turn is used as qualification for the Olympics football tournament of which these sides participating in the WAFF championship were eligible for.
Group stage
| Legend |
|---|
| Advanced to the semifinals |
- All times listed are (UTC+3)
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qatar |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 |
| Yemen |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
 Palestine |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 3 |
 Jordan |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Palestine | 1–3 | Yemen |
|---|---|---|
Batran  88' |
report | Al-Hubaishi 15', 44' Abdullah 24' |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iran |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 |
 Saudi Arabia |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 |
 Bahrain |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0 |
| Iran | 2–0 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Cheshmi 29' Fazeli 41' |
Report |
| Iran | 2–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Motahari 8', 16' |
Report | Madou 18' (pen.) Al-Sulayhem 79' |
| Saudi Arabia | 3–2 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Ghamdi 34' Al-Sulayhem 80'Madou 90+1' (pen.) |
Report | Abdulrasool 83' (pen.) Hasan 90+3' |
Group C
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syria |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
 United Arab Emirates |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
 Oman |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 0 |
| Syria | 2–1 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Nakdali 17' Al Bahr 23' |
Report | Mubarak 58' |
| United Arab Emirates | 4–3 | Oman |
|---|---|---|
| Khameis 15' Khalfan 22'Saif 86'Rabee 90+6' |
Report | Saleem 1' Al Hamdani 82' (pen.)Taaib 90+4' |
Ranking of second-placed teams
The best runner-up across all groups advance to semifinal. The results against the fourth-placed team are not counted when determining the ranking of the runner-up team.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yemen |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
| Saudi Arabia |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 |
| United Arab Emirates |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
Knockout stage
Final
| Syria | 0–2 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Naghizadeh 58' Motahari 81' |
Final standing
Player awards
Goalscorers
References
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