The 2012 WAFF Championship was the 7th WAFF Championship, an international tournament for member nations of the West Asian Football Federation. It was hosted by Kuwait from 8 to 20 December 2012.[2][3] The defending champions were Kuwait. However, they did not get past the group stage. The tournament was won by Syria for the first time.
| 7th "WAFF" Championship for men[1] | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Kuwait |
| Dates | 8–20 December |
| Teams | 11 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Syria (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Iraq |
| Third place |  Oman |
| Fourth place |  Bahrain |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 19 |
| Goals scored | 31 (1.63 per match) |
| Attendance | 32,950 (1,734 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Qasim Said Ahmad Al Douni (4 goals each) |
← 2010 2013 → | |
11 members from 13 members of WAFF participated in this tournament.
| Country | Appearance | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|
| Bahrain
|
2nd | Group stage (2010) |
 Iran
|
7th | Champions (2000, 2004, 2007, 2008) |
| Iraq
|
6th | Champions (2002) |
 Jordan
|
7th | Runners-up (2002, 2008) |
 Kuwait (hosts)
|
2nd | Champions (2010) |
 Lebanon
|
5th | Group stage (2000, 2002, 2004, 2007) |
| Oman
|
3rd | Group Stage (2008, 2010) |
 Palestine
|
7th | Group stage (2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010) |
 Saudi Arabia
|
1st | None |
| Syria
|
7th | Runners-up (2000, 2004) |
 Yemen
|
2nd | Semi-finals (2010) |
Note:
Qatar and 
United Arab Emirates did not enter.| Kuwait City |
 |
Al-Farwaniyah |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium | Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah Stadium | |
| Capacity: 21,500 | Capacity: 10,000 | |
|
|
The draw took place on 16 September 2012 in Kuwait City, Kuwait.[4][5] The eleven teams were drawn into three groups based on team rankings. Two groups include four teams and one group has three teams.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Qatar and United Arab Emirates did not enter.
| Key to colours in group tables |
|---|
| Group winners and best runner-up advance to the semi-finals |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oman
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
| Kuwait (H)
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Palestine
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 |
| Lebanon
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
| Kuwait | 2–1 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
Nasser  2'Al-Mutawa 6' (pen.) |
Report | Nu'man 45+1' |
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Ali Sabah Adday Al-Qaysi (Iraq)
| Oman | 0–1 | Lebanon |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Haidar 11' |
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (UAE)
| Kuwait | 0–2 | Oman |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Qasim 36', 45+2' |
Attendance: 1,400
Referee: Nasser Al-Ghafari (Jordan)
| Lebanon | 0–1 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Abugharqud 74' |
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Ko Hyung-Jin (South Korea)
| Kuwait | 2–1 | Lebanon |
|---|---|---|
| Nasser 8' Khamis 79' |
Report | Atwi 61' |
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Ali Sabah Adday Al-Qaysi (Iraq)
| Oman | 2–1 | Palestine |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Seyabi 5' Qasim 34' |
Report | Zatara 40' |
Attendance: 500
Referee: Minoru Tojo (Japan)
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrain
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 7 |
| Iran
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 |
| Saudi Arabia
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Yemen
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
| Iran | 0–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 1,200
Referee: Minoru Tojo (Japan)
| Bahrain | 1–0 | Yemen |
|---|---|---|
| Okwunwanne 87' |
Report |
Attendance: 150
Referee: Ali Sabbagh (Lebanon)
| Iran | 0–0 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Banjar Al-Dosari (Qatar)
| Yemen | 0–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Otayf 39' |
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Masoud Tufayelieh (Syria)
| Iran | 2–1 | Yemen |
|---|---|---|
| O. Nazari 41' Karimi 53' |
Report | Al-Worafi 45+1' |
Attendance: 500
Referee: Ali Sabbagh (Lebanon)
| Bahrain | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Okwunwanne 77' |
Report |
Attendance: 200
Referee: Nasser Al-Ghafari (Jordan)
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syria
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| Iraq
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Jordan
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
| Iraq | 1–0 | Jordan |
|---|---|---|
| Ahmed 62' |
Report |
Attendance: 1,600
Referee: Ali Shaban (Kuwait)
| Iraq | 1–1 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Al Masri 11' (o.g.) |
Report | Al Douni 48' |
Attendance: 1,300
Referee: Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (UAE)
| Jordan | 1–2 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Bani Attiah 22' |
Report | Al Douni 62', 82' |
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Ko Hyung-Jin (South Korea)
At the end of the group stage, a comparison will be made between the second-placed teams of each group. Matches against the fourth-placed team in Group A and B group are not included in this ranking. The best second-placed team advance to the semifinals.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iraq
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Kuwait
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
| Iran
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||
| ||||||
| 18 December – Al Farwaniyah | |||||
| ||||||
| Oman | 0 | ||||
| 20 December – Kuwait City | |||||
| Iraq | 2 | ||||
| Iraq | 0 | ||||
| 18 December – Kuwait City | |||||
| Syria | 1 | ||||
| Bahrain | 1 (2) | ||||
| ||||||
| Syria (pen.) | 1 (3) | ||||
| Third place | |||||
| ||||||
| 20 December – Al Farwaniyah | |||||
| ||||||
| Oman | 1 | ||||
| ||||||
| Bahrain | 0 | ||||
| Oman | 0–2 | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Radhi 6' Yasin 39' |
Attendance: 500
Referee: Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (UAE)
| Bahrain | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Al Safi 67' |
Report | Al Douni 72' |
| Penalties | ||
Husain  Moosa  Saad Al Alawi Salman |
2–3 | Jafal Salih Habib Khadouj Al Douni |
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Ali Shaban (Kuwait)
| Oman | 1–0 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Qasim 68' |
Report |
Attendance: 100
Referee: Banjar Al-Dosari (Qatar)
| Iraq | 0–1 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Al Saleh 74' |
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Minoru Tojo (Japan)
| 2012 WAFF Championship champion |
|---|
 Syria First title |
Yaghoub Karimi Omid Nazari Hammadi Ahmed Amjad Radhi Ahmed Yasin Khalil Bani Attiah Bader Al-Mutawa Abdulhadi Khamis Abbas Atwi Adnan Haidar Mohammed Al Seyabi Eyad Abugharqud Ashraf Nu'man Imad Zatara Abdullah Otayf Ahmad Al Salih Hamdi Al Masri (playing against Iraq)
