1972 AFC Asian Cup qualification
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 May – 24 December 1971 | 
| Teams | 13 (from 1 confederation) | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 29 | 
| Goals scored | 98 (3.38 per match) | 
| ← 1968  1976 →  | |
| AFC Asian Qualifiers | 
|---|
Qualification for the 1972 AFC Asian Cup finals held in Thailand.
Zones
| Central zone | Eastern zone | Western zone 1 | Western zone 2 | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 
 | 
 | 
 | 
- * Withdrew
- **  Israel originally qualified as hosts, but withdrew later[1] Israel originally qualified as hosts, but withdrew later[1]
- ***.svg.png) Iraq were allocated to Western zone later Iraq were allocated to Western zone later
.svg.png) Iran qualified as defending champions Iran qualified as defending champions
Central Zone
- All matches played in Thailand.
Group allocation matches where winners were divided into separate groups
| Malaysia  | 8–0 |  Brunei | 
|---|---|---|
| Zulkifli Norbit  12', 28', 80' S. Abdullah  28', 38', 83' Wong Choon Wah  37' Soh Chin Aun  48' | 
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Indonesia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 4 | 
|  Thailand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 2 | 
|  Brunei | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | −19 | 0 | 
Source: 
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Malaysia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | 
|  Khmer Republic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 
| .svg.png) Hong Kong | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 | 
Source: 
| Malaysia  | 2–1 |  Khmer Republic | 
|---|---|---|
| Wong Choon Wah  12' Shaharuddin Abdullah  75' | Sleyman Selim  44' | 
| Malaysia  | 2–1 | .svg.png) Hong Kong | 
|---|---|---|
| Shaharuddin Abdullah  25', 69' | Chung Chor Wai  44' | 
Semifinal
Match for third place
Final
Thailand and Khmer Republic qualified for final tournament
Eastern Zone
All the others withdrew, so .svg.png) South Korea qualified automatically.
 South Korea qualified automatically.
Western Zone
- All matches played in Kuwait.
Group allocation matches where winners were divided into separate groups
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) had a bye
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .svg.png) Iraq | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 6 | 
|  Jordan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 
| .svg.png) Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 2 | 
| .svg.png) Ceylon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 | 
Source: [2]
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Kuwait | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | 
| .svg.png) Lebanon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 
| .svg.png) Syria | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 1 | 
Source: 
Semifinal
Match for third place
Final
Iraq and Kuwait qualified for final tournament
Qualified teams
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearance | 
|---|---|---|---|
|  Thailand | Hosts* and Central Zone winners | 30 May 1971 | 0 (debut) | 
| .svg.png) Iran | 1968 AFC Asian Cup Champions | 19 May 1968 | 1 (1968) | 
|  Khmer Republic | Central Zone runners-up | 30 May 1971 | 0 (debut) | 
| .svg.png) South Korea | Eastern zone winners (automatically qualified) | 1971 | 3 (1956, 1960, 1964) | 
| .svg.png) Iraq | Western Zone winners | 22 December 1971 | 0 (debut) | 
|  Kuwait | Western Zone runners-up | 21 December 1971 | 0 (debut) | 
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