The 1956 AFC Asian Cup was the inaugural AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial continental association football competition introduced and organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The final tournament was held in Hong Kong from 1 September to 15 September 1956 as a four-team round-robin competition with no final. It was won by South Korea.[1][2]
| Asian Cup Hong Kong 1956 1956年亞洲盃足球賽 | |
|---|---|
South Korea, the winner of 1956 AFC Asian Cup, at Hong Kong Stadium
| |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Hong Kong |
| Dates | 1–15 September |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  South Korea (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Israel |
| Third place |  Hong Kong |
| Fourth place |  South Vietnam |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 27 (4.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 136,000 (22,667 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Nahum Stelmach (4 goals) |
1960 → | |
An unusual ruling meant that all games were 80 minutes long, with an extra 30 minutes extra time if the game was drawn at full time (although this didn’t happen due to bad light).[3]
| Hong Kong | |
|---|---|
| Government Stadium | |
| Capacity: 28,000 | |
|
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong |
Hosts | N/A | 0 (debut) |
| South Vietnam |
Central Zone winners | 24 May 1956 | 0 (debut) |
| South Korea |
Eastern Zone winners | 2 September 1956 | 0 (debut) |
| Israel |
Western Zone winners (Automatically qualified since other nations withdrew) | 1956 | 0 (debut) |
All times are Hong Kong Time (UTC+8)
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 5 | Champions |
| 2 | Israel
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Hong Kong (H)
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 2 | Third place |
| 4 | South Vietnam
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 1 | Fourth place |
| Hong Kong | 2–3 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
Au Chi Yin [zh]  12', 66' |
Glazer 37', 76' Stelmach 69' |
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: H.A. Sheppard (England)
| South Korea | 2–2 | Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Kim Ji-sung 45' Sung Nak-woon 62' |
Tang Yee Kit [zh] 10' Ko Po Keung [zh] 39' |
Attendance: 25,000
| Israel | 1–2 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Stelmach 71' |
Woo Sang-kwon 52' Sung Nak-woon 64' |
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Trương Văn Ky (South Vietnam)
| South Vietnam | 2–2 | Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Trần Văn Tổng 30' Lê Hữu Đức 64' |
Chu Wing Wah [zh] 59' (pen.) Lau Chi Lam [zh] 79' |
Attendance: 20,000
| Israel | 2–1 | South Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Stelmach 14', 27' |
Trần Văn Tổng 58' |
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Tommy Tucker (England)
| South Korea | 5–3 | South Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Sung Nak-woon 5' Woo Sang-kwon 41' (pen.), 58'Choi Chung-min 57', 66' |
Trải Văn Đào 20' Lê Hữu Đức 51', 63' |
Attendance: 13,000
| AFC Asian Cup 1956 winners |
|---|
 South Korea First title |
With four goals, Nahum Stelmach is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 27 goals were scored by 15 different players, with none of them credited as own goal.
4 goals
3 goals
Woo Sang-kwon Lê Hữu Đức2 goals
Au Chi Yin [zh] Yehoshua Glazer Choi Chung-min Trần Văn Tổng1 goal
Ko Po Keung [zh] Lau Chi Lam [zh] Tang Yee Kit [zh] Kim Ji-sung Trải Văn Đào
