The qualification for the 1972 AFC Asian Cup consisted of 13 teams in three zones. The winner and runners-up of each group would join hosts Thailand and title defenders Iran in the final tournament.
Zones Central zoneEastern zoneWestern zone 1Western zone 2*
* Withdrew ** Israel originally qualified as hosts, but withdrew later *** Iraq were allocated to Western zone later Iran qualified as defending champions
Central Zone All matches played in Thailand.
Group allocation matches where winners were divided into separate groups.
Group A
Group B
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
Final
Eastern Zone
All the other teams withdrew, so South Korea qualified automatically.
Western Zone All matches played in Kuwait.
Group allocation matches where winners were divided into separate groups. Ceylon received a bye and was automatically allocated into Group A.
Group A
Group B
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
Final
Qualified teams Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearance and 30 May 1971 0 (debut) 19 May 1968 30 May 1971 0 (debut) 1971 22 December 1971 0 (debut) 21 December 1971 0 (debut)
Israel originally qualified as hosts but later withdrew. Thailand replaced them later.
Goalscorers
References
External links Details at RSSSF FIFA results record, used to update dates and locations Al-Hayat; December 1971