Group B of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup was one of four groups of nations competing at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. The group's first round of matches were played on 10 January, the second round on 14 January, and the final round on 18 January. All six group matches were played at venues in Australia. The group consisted of Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, China and North Korea. China and Uzbekistan advanced as group winners and runners-up respectively, while Saudi Arabia and North Korea were eliminated.
Teams Draw position Team Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Previous bestperformance FIFA Rankings March 2014 Start of event B1 Group E runners-up 19 November 2013 6th 2011 Fourth place (2011) 55 71 B2 Group C winners 15 November 2013 9th 2011 Winners (1984, 1988, 1996) 75 102 B3 Best third-placed team 5 March 2014 11th 2011 Runners-up (1984, 2004) 98 96 B4 2012 AFC Challenge Cup winners 19 March 2012 4th 2011 Fourth place (1980) 133 150
Notes
Standings
In the quarter-finals: China PR advanced to play Australia (runner-up of Group A). Uzbekistan advanced to play South Korea (winner of Group A).
Matches
Uzbekistan vs North Korea Igor Sergeev netted with a fine header just after the hour mark to secure all three points for Mirjalol Qosimov's side as they look to build on their semi-final finish in Qatar in 2011. Uzbekistan controlled large swathes of the game, but were unable to make their dominance tell until Sergeev nodded in Server Djeparov's cross from the left.Asian Cup: Uzbekistan beats North Korea 1-0 in rain-hit SydneyUzbekistan see off North Korea
Odil Ahmedov had a chance early on through a long-range shot that went woefully wide, before Timur Kapadze's deflected header came off the post. Rain began to fall in the second half, which created difficulties for both teams. Then, Sanzhar Tursunov aimed a dangerous free kick at the North Korean goal with 10 minutes remaining, while another attempt of his was saved by Ri Myong-guk seven minutes later. Uzbekistan were almost made to pay for it when Pak Kwang-ryong made a powerful header, but Ignatiy Nesterov's stop ensured that the Central Asian representative held on to the win.Asian Cup: Uzbekistan opens with 1-0 win over North Korea
GK 12Ignatiy NesterovCB 3 Shavkat MullajanovCB 7 Azizbek HaydarovCB 5 Anzur IsmailovRM 23Akmal Shorakhmedov CM 18Timur KapadzeCM 9 Odil Ahmedov LM 19Vitaliy DenisovAM 17Sanzhar Tursunov AM 8 Server Djeparov (c)CF 11Igor Sergeev Substitutions:FW 4 Sardor Rashidov FW 6 Bahodir Nasimov MF 10Jamshid Iskanderov Manager:Mirjalol Qosimov GK 1 Ri Myong-gukRB 16Cha Jong-hyokCB 15Jang Kuk-cholCB 3 Jang Song-hyokLB 4 Jon Kwang-ikDM 19Ri Yong-jik CM 9 Pak Song-chol (c)CM 8 Ryang Yong-giRW 11Jong Il-gwanLW 17So Hyon-uk CF 10Pak Kwang-ryongSubstitutions:FW 12Om Chol-song Manager:Jo Tong-sop
Man of the Match: Igor Sergeev (Uzbekistan)
Assistant referees: Yaser Tulefat (Bahrain) Ebrahim Saleh (Bahrain) Fourth official: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates) Fifth official: Azman Ismail (Malaysia)
Saudi Arabia vs China A late and somewhat fortunate free kick by Yu Hai proved to be the lone goal of the match as Saudi Arabia paid the price for Naif Hazazi's missed second-half penalty against Alain Perrin's side. Both China, who are looking to return to the quarter-finals for the first time since hosting the competition in 2004, and Saudi Arabia failed to qualify for the knockout phase at last edition. Three-time champions Saudi Arabia enjoyed the better moments early on with their technique-oriented game, seeing more time on the ball and pushing China deep into their own half. However, they failed to translate possession into opportunities and could not produce a single shot on target before the intermission.Saudi Arabia 0-1 China: Yu Hai punishes Hazazi missed penalty
The second half opened gingerly before Saudi Arabia kicked it into a higher gear on the hour mark, Hazazi breaking free down the inside left channel to win a penalty off defender Ren Hang who tackled one step too late. Ren, nevertheless, was bailed out by his keeper Wang Dalei who read Hazazi well from the spot, diving to his left to deny the Saudis the lead as the Chinese half of the crowd at Brisbane Stadium erupted in joy.Asian Cup 2015: Saudi Arabia 0-1 China
China nearly stung Saudi Arabia right away at the opposite end, Ren forcing a two-handed stop from Waleed Abdullah with a close-range header towards the bottom right corner of the net. The deadlock was finally broken after 80 minutes when Yu's free kick took a wicked deflection off a defender to the wrong-footed Abdullah who, despite a desperate attempt to keep Yu's effort out, saw the ball skip into his net.China stuns Saudi Arabia; Golden goalies shine brightlyChina gets a lucky break over Saudis
GK 1 Waleed AbdullahRB 2 Saeed Al-Muwallad CB 3 Osama HawsawiCB 5 Omar HawsawiLB 13Yasser Al-ShahraniCM 14Saud Kariri (c)CM 7 Salman Al-Faraj RW 6 Mustafa Al-Bassas AM 20Nawaf Al AbedLW 18Salem Al-DawsariCF 9 Naif HazaziSubstitutions:FW 10Mohammad Al-Sahlawi MF 8 Yahya Al-Shehri Manager: Cosmin Olăroiu GK 23Wang DaleiRB 5 Zhang LinpengCB 3 Mei Fang CB 2 Ren Hang LB 10Zheng Zhi (c) RM 14Ji Xiang CM 15Wu XiCM 11Hao Junmin LM 21Yu HaiCF 17Zhang Chengdong CF 7 Wu LeiSubstitutions:FW 9 Yang Xu MF 20Yu Hanchao DF 4 Jiang Zhipeng Manager: Alain Perrin
Man of the Match: Wang Dalei (China)
Assistant referees: Reza Sokhandan (Iran) Mohammadreza Abolfazli (Iran) Fourth official: Muhammad Taqi Al-Jaafari (Singapore) Fifth official: Jeffrey Goh Gek Pheng (Singapore)
North Korea vs Saudi Arabia Mohammad Al-Sahlawi scored twice in quick succession just after half-time as three-time winners Saudi Arabia kept their quarter-final hopes alive after recording a 4–1 comeback win over North Korea on Wednesday. North Korea's first AFC Asian Cup goal since November 1992 scored after 11 minutes from Ryang Yong-gi had given Jo Tong-sop's side hope of bouncing back from their opening defeat by Uzbekistan in Group B. But after Naif Hazazi equalised for Saudi Arabia before half-time, Al Sahlawi's quick-fire double in the space of three second-half minutes and a late strike from Nawaf Al-Abed ensured Cosmin Olăroiu's side their first three points of the campaign having lost to China PR at the weekend and ended the quarter-final hopes of former semi-finalists North Korea. With both sides seeking their first points of the campaign at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, North Korea made an aggressive start as Sim Hyon-jin was denied twice in quick succession by Waleed Abdullah, with the first from a dipping strike from the edge of the penalty area in the seventh minute and the second a glancing header from the resulting corner.Saudi Arabia hands North Korea 4-1 Asian Cup defeat
Abdullah, though, was beaten just four minutes later as Ryang followed up after the Saudi Arabia custodian could only parry Pak Kwang-ryong's dipping angled volley from Jong Il-gwan's knockdown back out towards the penalty spot. Saudi Arabia looked for an instant response as Hazazi headed agonisingly wide from inside the penalty area six minutes later as Ri Myong-guk's goal came under increasing pressure as the half progressed. And Saudi Arabia equalised eight minutes before half-time as the Green Falcons quickly worked the ball across the edge of the penalty area for Al Abed to tee-up Hazazi, who fired low through the legs of Ri Myong-guk at his near post. The goalkeeper did come to North Korea's rescue three minutes before half-time as the custodian produced a superb one-handed save low to his left to turn Al Abed's equally eye-catching turn and volley around the post.North Korea 1-4 Saudi Arabia: Falcons come from behind to send opponents crashing out
But as Saudi Arabia continued to dominate into the second half, Ri Myong-guk was again beaten seven minutes after half-time as Al Sahlawi was on hand to stab home from close range after Abdullah Al-Zori's low drilled cross had taken a fortunate deflection off Jang Kuk-chol and North Korea handed Saudi Arabia a third goal just two minutes later as Jang Song-hyok's overhit backpass caused confusion between Ri Yong-jik and Ri Myong-guk on the edge of the penalty area, and with the defender only able to drill his attempted clearance against Al Sahlawi, the striker simply rolled the ball into the empty net. Al Sahlawi had a chance to seal his hat-trick with 19 minutes remaining, but after racing clear of the North Korea backline and with only Ri Myong-guk to beat, the striker poked his effort wide shortly before being substituted.
Saudi Arabia, though, did add a fourth with 13 minutes remaining through Al-Abed, who had seen his penalty saved by Ri Myong-guk after Ri Yong-jik's sending-off in unfortunate circumstances.Saudi Arabia eliminates North Korea 4-1 at Asia Cup
GK 1 Ri Myong-gukRB 16Cha Jong-hyok CB 15Jang Kuk-cholCB 3 Jang Song-hyokLB 4 Jon Kwang-ikDM 19Ri Yong-jik CM 9 Pak Song-chol (c) CM 8 Ryang Yong-gi RW 11Jong Il-gwan LW 13Sim Hyon-jin CF 10Pak Kwang-ryongSubstitutions:MF 21O Hyok-chol DF 6 Ro Hak-su FW 20Choe Won Manager:Jo Tong-sop GK 1 Waleed AbdullahRB 12Hassan FallatahCB 3 Osama HawsawiCB 5 Omar HawsawiLB 4 Abdullah Al-ZoriCM 14Saud Kariri (c) CM 7 Salman Al-FarajRW 9 Naif HazaziAM 20Nawaf Al Abed LW 18Salem Al-DawsariCF 10Mohammad Al-Sahlawi Substitutions:MF 17Taisir Al-Jassim MF 15Ibrahim Ghaleb FW 19Fahad Al-Muwallad Manager: Cosmin Olăroiu
Man of the Match: Nawaf Al Abed (Saudi Arabia)
Assistant referees: Hamad Al-Mayahi (Oman) Abu Bakar Al-Amri (Oman) Fourth official: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates) Fifth official: Yagi Akane (Japan)
China vs Uzbekistan China returned to the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals after an 11-year absence with a come-from-behind 2–1 win against Uzbekistan at Brisbane Stadium, their first ever victory over Uzbekistan at any official tournament since the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification, having won only once, drawn once and lost three previous encounters over the Uzbeks. 2011 edition semi-finalists Uzbekistan drew first blood midway through the opening half thanks to Odil Ahmedov, but China turned the tables on the white wolves after the break with goals from Wu Xi and substitute Sun Ke to grab the three points and the first ticket to the second round from Group B. Uzbekistan lie third behind Saudi Arabia on goal difference, with North Korea at the foot of the table. The Chinese came close to breaking the deadlock in the fifth minute, when Wu Lei surged through the middle to latch on to a cross from the left, only to miss by inches. China duly got a taste of their own medicine after 22 minutes when Ahmedov shook off Wu outside the box before letting rip a shot. Wu recovered, sliding in to attempt to block Ahmedov's shot - but only succeeded in changing the trajectory of the ball, which escaped goalkeeper Wang Dalei and bounced into the net.
Uzbekistan took the lead into the break but failed to hold on, as China restored parity on 55 minutes. Striker Gao Lin set things up with a dazzling assist from the right by-line, flicking the ball into the path of Wu who atoned for his first-half deflection by firing home into the bottom left corner to make it 1–1. Alain Perrin's side then moved in front through Sun Ke. Just two minutes after coming on, Sun beat Ignatiy Nesterov fair and square from the edge of the box, curling his shot beyond the outstretched arms of the Uzbekistan custodian to hand China the advantage.China beats Uzbekistan, reaches quarterfinals at Asian Cup