2015 AFC Asian Cup squads explained
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was an international football tournament that was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The 16 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 23 players, including three goalkeepers. Only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.
Before announcing their final squad, several teams named a provisional squad of 23 to 30 players, but each country's final squad of 23 players had to be submitted by 30 December 2014.[1] Replacement of injured players was permitted until six hours before the team's first Asian Cup game. Players marked (c) were named as captain for their national squad. Number of caps counts until the start of the tournament, including all FIFA-recognized pre-tournament friendlies. Player's age is their age on the opening day of the tournament.
Group A
Australia
Coach: Ange Postecoglou
On 7 December 2014, Postecoglou named a provisional list of 46 players for the tournament.[2] The final squad was announced on 23 December 2014.[3]
South Korea
Coach: Uli Stielike
The final squad was announced on 22 December 2014.[4]
Oman
Coach: 
Paul Le Guen
The final squad was announced on 25 December 2014.[5] [6] [7] [8] There were two changes in the final squad: Sulaiman Al-Buraiki replaced Mohannad Al-Zaabi and Amer Said Al-Shatri replaced Saad Al-Mukhaini.[9]
Kuwait
Coach: 
Nabil Maâloul
The final squad was announced on 30 December 2014.[10]
Group B
Uzbekistan
Coach: Mirjalol Qosimov
The final squad was announced on 30 December 2014.[11]
Saudi Arabia
Coach: 
Cosmin Olăroiu
The final squad was announced on 25 December 2014.[12] Nasser Al-Shamrani was ruled out for the tournament due to injury and replaced by Ibrahim Ghaleb.[13]
China
Coach: Alain Perrin
The final squad was announced on 24 December 2014.[14]
North Korea
Coach: Jo Tong-sop
The final squad was announced on 30 December 2014.[15]
Group C
Iran
Coach: Carlos Queiroz
The final squad was announced on 30 December 2014.[16] On 7 January 2015, Hashem Beikzadeh was replaced by Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh due to injury.[17]
United Arab Emirates
Coach: Mahdi Ali
The final squad was announced on 27 December 2014.[18] Mohamed Fawzi was ruled out for the tournament due to injury and replaced by Salem Saleh.
Qatar
Coach: Djamel Belmadi
The final squad was announced on 23 December 2014.[19]
Bahrain
Coach: Marjan Eid
The final squad was announced on 30 December 2014.[20]
Group D
Japan
Coach: 
Javier Aguirre
The final squad was announced on 15 December 2014.[21] However, defender Atsuto Uchida sustained injury afterwards and was replaced by Naomichi Ueda.
Jordan
Coach: Ray Wilkins
The final squad was announced on 18 December 2014.[22]
Iraq
Coach: Radhi Shenaishil
The final squad was announced on 29 December 2014.[23]
Palestine
Coach: Ahmed Al Hassan
The final squad was announced on 25 December 2014.[24]
Player representation
By age
Players
Goalkeepers
Captains
By club
Clubs with 5 or more players represented are listed.
| Players | Club |
|---|
| 10 | Qadsia |
| 9 |  Al-Shorta |
| 8 |  Guangzhou Evergrande, Hilal Al-Quds,  Rimyongsu,  Al-Wehdat, Al-Hilal |
| 7 |  Al-Oruba,  Al-Sadd |
| 6 | Al Ain,  Al-Muharraq, Al-Riffa, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli, April 25, El-Jaish, Jiangsu Sainty, Lekhwiya |
| 5 | Al-Ahli, Al-Shabab, Fanja,  Lokomotiv Tashkent |
|
By club nationality
| Players | AFC clubs |
|---|
| 35 | Saudi Arabia |
| 33 | Qatar |
| 29 | UAE |
| 27 | China |
| 23 | Kuwait |
| 22 | Oman |
| 20 | Bahrain |
| 18 |  Japan, North Korea |
| 17 | Palestine |
| 16 | Uzbekistan |
| 15 | Iraq |
| 14 |  Iran, Jordan |
| 7 |  Australia†,  South Korea |
|
† Including Nathan Burns who played for Wellington Phoenix, a New Zealand club competing in the A-League.
| Players | Clubs outside AFC |
|---|
| 13 | Germany |
| 10 | England† |
| 5 |  Russia |
| 4 | Netherlands |
| 3 |  Belgium |
| 2 |  Italy,  Spain,  Sweden,  Turkey,  United States, Switzerland† |
| 1 |  Egypt, Portugal, Slovenia,  Poland,  Ukraine |
|
† Including
Ki Sung-yueng who played for
Swansea City, a
Wales club competing in the
Premier League.
† Including Pak Kwang-ryong who played for FC Vaduz, a Liechtenstein club competing in the Swiss Super League.
By club federation
† Including
Nathan Burns who played for
Wellington Phoenix, a New Zealand club competing in the A-League. All other New Zealand clubs are members of the
OFC.
By representatives of domestic league
| National squad | Players |
|---|
| 23 |
| 23 |
| 23 |
| 23 |
| 22 |
| 21 |
| 19 |
| 18 |
| 17 |
| 15 |
| 14 |
| 13 |
| 13 |
| 13 |
| 7† |
| 5 | |
† Including Nathan Burns who played for Wellington Phoenix, a New Zealand club competing in the A-League.
Notes and References
- Web site: Competition Regulations – AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140527214302/http://www.afcasiancup.com/i/AsianCup/img/pdfs/2015_Competition_Regulations.pdf . 2014-05-27 .
- Web site: Socceroos' provisional 46-man squad for Asian Cup named. footballaustralia.com.au. 23 December 2014.
- Web site: Socceroos announce Asian Cup squad. AFC Asian Cup. 23 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150110083420/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/socceroos-announce-asian-cup-squad/1rg0sfyae2bhe1p363n7bdnld9. 10 January 2015. dead.
- Web site: STIELIKE ANNOUNCES FINAL KOREAN SQUAD . afcasiancup.com . 24 December 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141222122029/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/stielike-announces-final-korean-squad/1mggfsgqcmjqpz4bmcccgk3ey . 22 December 2014 .
- Web site: Football: Oman begin quest for Asian Cup 2015 . Times of Oman . 2014-12-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141227045140/http://www.timesofoman.com/News/44826/Article-Football-Oman-begin-quest-for-Asian-Cup-2015 . 2014-12-27 . dead .
- Web site: Le Guen hopes to go beyond group stage . MUSCATDAULY.COM . 2014-12-26 . 2015-01-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150109030024/http://www.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Sports/Le-Guen-hopes-to-go-beyond-group-stage-3p88 . dead .
- Web site: LE GUEN FINALISES OMANI SQUAD . afcasiancup.com . 2014-12-28 . 2014-12-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141230211354/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/le-guen-finalises-omani-squad/1oqhzwi7tqi4v172rlkz3is3cb . dead .
- Web site: Oman name squad for Asian Cup . OMAN Observer . 2014-12-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141228210311/http://omanobserver.om/oman-name-squad-for-asian-cup/ . 2014-12-28 . dead .
- Web site: Asian Cup 2015: China rout injury-hit Oman . Times of Oman . 2015-01-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150104203520/http://www.timesofoman.com/News/45204/Article-Asian-Cup-2015-China-rout-injury-hit-Oman . 2015-01-04 . dead .
- Web site: Kuwait select squad for Asian Cup . afcasiancup.com . 2014-12-31 . 2015-01-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150103010602/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/kuwait-select/1t7pt6d1eal0l1akrp49rmbcjw . dead .
- Web site: White Wolve squad finalised. AFC Asian Cup. 30 December 2014. 30 December 2014. 6 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306051344/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/white-wolve-squad-finalised/1xc42r4nx35t415zqvmaxd7wff. dead.
- Web site: Olaroiu selects Saudi side. afcasiancup.com. 26 December 2014. 6 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306194436/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/olaroiu-selects-saudi-side/1avuryd2r80k51vjba5mndjpei. dead.
- Web site: Al Shamrani ruled out of Asian Cup. AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015. 10 January 2015. 10 January 2015. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052150/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/al-shamrani-ruled-out-of-asian-cup/7l9lef59r8js1lono97m7i749. dead.
- Web site: PERRIN FINALISES CHINESE ASIAN CUP SQUAD. afcasiancup.com. 24 December 2014. 25 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141225102340/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/perrin-finalises-chinese-asian-cup-squad/1o13n4f9xeeiu1s7rc845satfr. dead.
- Web site: DPR KOREA SQUAD ANNOUNCED. afcasiancup.com. 30 December 2014. 31 December 2014. 10 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150110093153/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/dpr-korea-squad-announced/c0hzlnsuv8pgzsw3xpf597y0. dead.
- Web site: Queiroz names Team Melli squad . afcasiancup.com . 30 December 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150101072926/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/nekounam-headlines-iranian-squad/10ppu97hz8lxf1ik1ux49b1ve0 . 1 January 2015 .
- Web site: Khanzadeh replaces injured Beikzadeh in Iran's Asian Cup squad. PersianFootball.com. 7 January 2015.
- Web site: UAE announced squad for Asian Cup . afcasiancup.com . 2014-12-31 . 2015-01-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150102152253/http://www.afcasiancup.com/dct/asiancup-dtc-performgroup-eu-west-1/UAE1_19b4mkefwuee11nzo3chbqurdu.pdf . dead .
- Web site: QATAR NAME 23-MAN SQUAD . afcasiancup.com . 24 December 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141225100834/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/qatar-name-23-man-squad/3m0lwf3ipg7l12o4mg5dgxd5e . 25 December 2014 .
- Web site: Eid selects seven from Riffa . afcasiancup.com . 2014-12-31 . 2015-01-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150102135903/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/eid-selects-seven-from-riffa/15usa9mjz926f1bxoyecf2o0pw . dead .
- Web site: Japan selects squad for 2015 Asian Cup defence in Australia. abc.net.au. 26 December 2014.
- Web site: Wilkins selects youth and experience . afcasiancup.com . 2014-12-31 . 2015-01-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150103072703/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/wilkins-selects-youth-and-experience/xhdfd07q7ajb1r3a5znm0l5uw . dead .
- Web site: Mahmoud to lead Iraq's Asian Cup charge. AFC Asian Cup. 30 December 2014. 30 December 2014. 2 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150102055521/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/mahmoud-to-lead-iraq-at/fughwqn99fer1gaykrjk98vsk. dead.
- Web site: Nu'man to the fore for Palestine . afcasiancup.com . 2014-12-31 . 2015-01-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150105211649/http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/afc-asian-cup-squads/1mlhlj9xe7ncq1kldqift61nbo . dead .
