Israel won the 3rd AFC Asian Cup with a perfect record, hosted in Tel Aviv amid widespread qualifying withdrawals.
Key Facts
- Edition
- 3rd AFC Asian Cup
- Host nation
- Israel
- Tournament dates
- 26 May – 3 June 1964
- Finalist teams
- 4 teams
- Nations withdrew from qualifying
- 11 of 17
- Match duration
- 80 minutes per match
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The AFC organised its quadrennial men's Asian Cup for the third time, using a zonal qualification system with Western, Central 1 and 2, and Eastern zones. However, 11 of the 17 participating nations withdrew from qualifying, leaving only one zone to contest qualifying matches, while the remaining zone representatives advanced uncontested.
The 1964 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Israel from 26 May to 3 June 1964, featuring four teams in a round-robin format. Israel, as host nation, competed against the zone qualifiers. All matches were played over 80 minutes, following the convention of previous editions of the tournament.
Israel claimed the AFC Asian Cup title with a perfect record of three wins from three matches, becoming the tournament's champion. The mass withdrawal of nations during qualification highlighted organisational challenges facing Asian football at the time and reduced the competition's scope.