1996 AFC Asian Cup
Country Qualified as Date qualification was secured Previous appearances in tournament
United Arab Emirates Hosts 1992 4 ( 1980 , 1984 , 1988 , 1992 )
Japan 1992 AFC Asian Cup winners 8 November 1992 2 ( 1988 , 1992 )
Saudi Arabia Qualifying round Group 9 winners 2 February 1996 3 ( 1984 , 1988 , 1992 )
China PR Qualifying round Group 2 winners 4 February 1996 5 ( 1976 , 1980 , 1984 , 1988 , 1992 )
Indonesia Qualifying round Group 4 winners 6 March 1996 0 ( Debut )
Uzbekistan Qualifying round Group 8 winners 19 June 1996 0 ( Debut )
Kuwait Qualifying round Group 10 winners 20 June 1996 5 ( 1972 , 1976 , 1980 , 1984 , 1988 )
Iran Qualifying round Group 5 winners 21 June 1996 7 ( 1968 , 1972 , 1976 , 1980 , 1984 , 1988 , 1992 )
Thailand Qualifying round Group 3 winners 9 July 1996 2 ( 1972 , 1992 )
Syria Qualifying round Group 7 winners 19 July 1996 3 ( 1980 , 1984 , 1988 )
South Korea Qualifying round Group 1 winners 11 August 1996 7 ( 1956 , 1960 , 1964 , 1972 , 1980 , 1984 , 1988 )
Iraq Qualifying round Group 6 winners 13 August 1996 2 ( 1972 , 1976 )
Qualification
Main article : 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification 33 teams participated in a preliminary tournament . It was divided into 10 groups and the first-placed team of each group thus qualified . The other 10 qualifying teams were :
The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 December 1996. Saudi Arabia defeated hosts United Arab Emirates in the final match in Abu Dhabi. As the runners-up, the United Arab Emirates represented the AFC in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup as the winners Saudi Arabia had qualified automatically as host.