2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualification
The 2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualification phase saw five teams advance to the finals to join three automatic qualifiers in the final tournament in Sri Lanka.
Qualification consisted of two sections.
- A playoff between the 19th and 20th ranked entrants (Mongolia and Macau)
- Four qualification groups for four teams. Each group winner advanced to the finals, along with the best-ranked runner-up. Because of the withdrawal of Afghanistan, the ranking of second-placed teams excluded results of any matches against fourth-placed sides.[1]
Seeding
    
Seeding was based partially on the FIFA World Ranks as at January 2009 (ranking shown in brackets).
| Automatic Qualifiers | Group Hosts | Other Teams | 
|---|---|---|
| 
 | 
 | 
 | 
 Laos,
 Laos,  Timor-Leste and
 Timor-Leste and  Guam chose not to compete.  Afghanistan withdrew prior to their first match.
 Guam chose not to compete.  Afghanistan withdrew prior to their first match.
Qualifying preliminary round
    
Moved from originally scheduled dates of 7 March and 14 March due to conflict with the qualification for the 2010 East Asian Football Championship.[2]
| Macau  | 2–0 |  Mongolia | 
|---|---|---|
| Chan Kin Seng  22' Leong Chong In  24' | Report | 
| Mongolia  | 3–1 |  Macau | 
|---|---|---|
| Altankhuyag  55' Geofredo  77' (o.g.) Lkhümbengarav  89' | Report | Chan Kin Seng  39' | 
3–3 on aggregate. Macau advanced to the group phase on the away goals rule.
Qualifying group stage
    
Qualification was officially scheduled to take place from 2–13 April 2009, although the actual dates began before and extended beyond that.[3] Each qualification group was held in a single location - Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka hosting their respective groups.
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) and tie breakers were in following order:[1]
- Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference in all the group matches;
- Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
- Kicks from the penalty mark if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
- Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches; (1 point for each yellow card, 3 points for each red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for each direct red card, 4 points for each yellow card followed by a direct red card)
- Drawing of lots.
| Key to colours in group tables | 
|---|
| Group winners and runners-up qualify for the final tournament | 
Group A
    
- Matches played in Bangladesh.
- Times listed are UTC+6.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .svg.png.webp) Myanmar | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 9 | 
|  Bangladesh | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | 
|  Cambodia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | 
|  Macau | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 | 
| Myanmar .svg.png.webp) | 4–0 |  Macau | 
|---|---|---|
| Khin Maung Lwin  3' Yazar Win Thein  15' Pyaye Phyo Oo  48' Myo Min Tun  59' | Report | 
| Cambodia  | 0–1 |  Bangladesh | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | E. Hoque  73' | 
| Bangladesh  | 1–2 | .svg.png.webp) Myanmar | 
|---|---|---|
| E. Hoque  12' | Report | Pai Soe  68', 77' | 
| Myanmar .svg.png.webp) | 1–0 |  Cambodia | 
|---|---|---|
| Yazar Win Thein  90+4' | Report | 
| Bangladesh  | 3–0 |  Macau | 
|---|---|---|
| Mamun  38' Hossain  68', 71' | Report | 
Group B
    
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Turkmenistan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | +14 | 9 | 
|  Maldives | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 6 | 
|  Philippines | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 3 | 
|  Bhutan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | −13 | 0 | 
| Philippines  | 1–0 |  Bhutan | 
|---|---|---|
| Gould  13' | Report | 
| Bhutan  | 0–7 |  Turkmenistan | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Ataýew  13', 67', 79' Çoňkaýew  16' Urazow  47' Mingazow  62' Mirzoýew  90+3' | 
| Turkmenistan  | 5–0 |  Philippines | 
|---|---|---|
| Del Rosario  26' (o.g.) Şamyradow  54', 63' Nasyrow  58' Urazow  65' | Report | 
Group C
    
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Kyrgyzstan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 
|  Nepal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 
|  Palestine | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 
| .svg.png.webp) Afghanistan (W) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 
Tie-breaking situation:
- Kyrgyzstan ranked ahead of Nepal and Palestine on the basis of goals scored.
- Nepal ranked ahead of Palestine on the basis of a better disciplinary record (Nepal 1 yellow card - Palestine 3 yellow cards).
| Kyrgyzstan  | 1–1 |  Palestine | 
|---|---|---|
| Murzaev  20' (pen.) | Report | Al-Sobakhi  29' | 
Group D
    
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Sri Lanka | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 7 | 
|  Pakistan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 5 | 
| .svg.png.webp) Chinese Taipei | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 4 | 
|  Brunei | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 16 | −15 | 0 | 
| Sri Lanka  | 5–1 |  Brunei | 
|---|---|---|
| Jayasuriya  23', 53', 67', 73' A. Mohamed  32' | Report | Kamarul  82' | 
| Pakistan  | 1–1 | .svg.png.webp) Chinese Taipei | 
|---|---|---|
| A. Ahmed  53' | Report | Chang Han  21' | 
| Chinese Taipei .svg.png.webp) | 1–2 |  Sri Lanka | 
|---|---|---|
| Huang Wei-yi  80' | Report | Jayasuriya  35' Ruwanthilake  39' | 
| Chinese Taipei .svg.png.webp) | 5–0 |  Brunei | 
|---|---|---|
| Chen Po-liang  11', 13', 58' Huang Wei-yi  30' Kuo Chun-yi  80' | Report | 
Ranking of second placed teams
    
The best-ranked second placed team also qualified for the finals tournament.
Due to Afghanistan's withdrawal from Group C, matches against fourth-placed sides in the other groups were excluded from the following comparison.
| Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A |  Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 
| B |  Maldives | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | 
| D |  Pakistan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 
| C |  Nepal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 
Notes on the tie-breaking situation:
- Bangladesh ranked ahead of the Maldives on the basis of goal difference.
- Pakistan ranked ahead of Nepal on the basis of goals scored.
Final tournament
    
The final tournament, consisting of 8 teams, was eventually held from 16–27 February in Sri Lanka.[5]
Qualifiers
    
The eight teams that qualified for the final tournament are:
 India U23 – automatic qualifier India U23 – automatic qualifier
 North Korea – automatic qualifier North Korea – automatic qualifier
 Tajikistan – automatic qualifier Tajikistan – automatic qualifier
.svg.png.webp) Myanmar – winner Group A Myanmar – winner Group A
 Turkmenistan – winner Group B Turkmenistan – winner Group B
 Kyrgyzstan – winner Group C Kyrgyzstan – winner Group C
 Sri Lanka – winner Group D Sri Lanka – winner Group D
 Bangladesh – best runner-up Bangladesh – best runner-up
The draw for the final tournament was done on 30 November 2009 at the Galadri Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.[6]
Goalscorers
    
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
 Enamul Hoque Enamul Hoque
 Mohammed Zahid Hossain Mohammed Zahid Hossain
 Huang Wei-yi Huang Wei-yi
 Mirlan Murzaev Mirlan Murzaev
 Chan Kin Seng Chan Kin Seng
.svg.png.webp) Pai Soe Pai Soe
.svg.png.webp) Yazar Win Thein Yazar Win Thein
 Adnan Ahmed Adnan Ahmed
 Chad Gould Chad Gould
 Rohana Ruwanthilake Rohana Ruwanthilake
 Arif Mirzoýew Arif Mirzoýew
 Mekan Nasyrow Mekan Nasyrow
 Didargylyç Urazow Didargylyç Urazow
- 1 goal
 Mohd Mamunul Islam Mohd Mamunul Islam
 Kamarul Ariffin Ramlee Kamarul Ariffin Ramlee
 Keo Sokngon Keo Sokngon
 Teab Vathanak Teab Vathanak
 Chang Han Chang Han
 Kuo Chun-yi Kuo Chun-yi
 Che Chi Man Che Chi Man
 Leong Chong In Leong Chong In
 Mukhthar Naseer Mukhthar Naseer
 Mohamed Umair Mohamed Umair
 Murun Altankhuyag Murun Altankhuyag
 Donorovyn Lkhümbengarav Donorovyn Lkhümbengarav
.svg.png.webp) Khin Maung Lwin Khin Maung Lwin
.svg.png.webp) Myo Min Tun Myo Min Tun
.svg.png.webp) Pyaye Phyo Oo Pyaye Phyo Oo
 Biraj Maharjan Biraj Maharjan
 Atif Bashir Atif Bashir
 Jadid Khan Pathan Jadid Khan Pathan
 Said Al-Sobakhi Said Al-Sobakhi
 Alexander Borromeo Alexander Borromeo
 Asmeer Lathif Mohamed Asmeer Lathif Mohamed
 Shanmugarajah Sanjeev Shanmugarajah Sanjeev
 Gahrymanberdi Çoňkaýew Gahrymanberdi Çoňkaýew
 Ruslan Mingazow Ruslan Mingazow
- Own goal
 Geofredo (playing against Mongolia) Geofredo (playing against Mongolia)
 Anton del Rosario (playing against Turkmenistan) Anton del Rosario (playing against Turkmenistan)
References
    
- "Regulations - AFC Challenge Cup 2010 (Qualifiers)" (PDF). The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-18. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- "2009 Draft Activity Plan" (PDF). MacauFA.com (in Chinese). Macau Football Association. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- "AFC Competitions Calendar 2009" (PDF). The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 2008-09-15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- "Afc challenge cup qualifiers:Afghanistan pull out". The Himalayan Times. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
- "Sri Lanka to host 2010 AFC Challenge Cup". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 2009-10-02. Archived from the original on 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
- "AFC Challenge Cup draw on November 30". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 2009-11-05.