Group C of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup took place from 7 to 16 January 2019. The group consists of South Korea, China PR, Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines. The top two teams, South Korea and China PR, along with third-placed Kyrgyzstan (as one of the four best third-placed teams), advanced to the round of 16.
South Korea was the only former champion in the group, having won both 1956 and 1960 editions. The Philippines and Kyrgyzstan both made debuts in the tournament.
Teams
Notes
Standings
In the round of 16: The winners of Group C, South Korea, advanced to play the third-placed team of Group A, Bahrain. The runners-up of Group C, China PR, advanced to play the runners-up of Group A, Thailand. The third-placed team of Group C, Kyrgyzstan, advanced to play the winners of Group A, the United Arab Emirates (as one of the four best third-placed teams).
Matches
All times listed are GST (UTC+4).
China PR vs Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan and China last played against each other in a friendly which ended in a 2–0 win for China.
Wu Lei had China's first effort at goal when he shot straight at Pavel Matyash in the 9th minute. Wu Xi shot just wide following a lay-off from Wu Lei before Gao Lin’s lofted, curling delivery from the left skipped away from a sliding Yu Dabao at the far post and bounced to safety. Mirlan Murzaev’s headed flick found Akhlidin Israilov on the edge of the area and the midfielder volleyed home via the inside of Yan Junling’s left post. Five minutes into the second half, Valery Kichin's attempted headed clearance from a corner went straight up and Matyash, in trying to tip the ball over his crossbar, pushed it into his own net off the woodwork. Twelve minutes later, Wu Xi headed over the bar at the end of a move involving Zhang Linpeng and Gao Lin while Wu Lei also saw his headed attempt clear the goal in the 71st minute. With 12 minutes remaining China took the lead when Wu Xi’s header directed Liu Yang’s long ball from the back into Yu’s path who slotted his shot beyond Matyash.
South Korea vs Philippines
This match was the first meeting between South Korea and the Philippines in 39 years with the last meeting in 1980 ending in an 8–0 win for the Koreans.
South Korea were awarded a free-kick after Luke Woodland fouled Koo Ja-cheol outside the box. Jung Woo-young's resulting strike missed the top left corner of the net by inches. Five minutes from the break, Lee Yong's pass into the penalty box found Hwang Ui-jo, who then turned to unleash a shot but Philippines goalkeeper Michael Falkesgaard made a save to deny him. Moments later, South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu parried away Javier Patiño’s volley, that began from a counter-attack after Daisuke Sato intercepted a pass and released a cross to the forward. Ten minutes into the second half, Patiño's shot was saved by Kim. South Korea sent on Hwang In-beom and Lee Chung-yong and less than three minutes later, Lee's pass found Hwang Hee-chan, whose back pass set Ui-jo to open the scoring from close range in the 67th minute. Phil Younghusband replaced John-Patrick Strauß in the final minute of the game, but South Korea held on to claim the win.
Philippines vs China PR
The last match played between the two sides, a friendly in 2017, concluded in an 8–1 win for the Chinese.
The Philippines threatened to break the deadlock in the 23rd minute when Patrick Reichelt and John-Patrick Strauß combined to set-up Javier Patiño whose goalbound effort was blocked by defender Feng Xiaoting. However, after Wu Xi had flashed a header narrowly wide, China went ahead on 40 minutes, Wu Lei received Hao Junmin's pass and finished from 12 yards past Michael Falkesgaard. In the final moments of the first half, Chinese custodian Yan Junling made a fine save to deny Kevin Ingreso and maintain his side's slender advantage. After the break, Wu Lei's angled volley forced Falkesgaard into a save, before he bagged his second of the game with a finish from Hao's 66th minute free-kick. Falkesgaard then pulled off another stop to deny Wu Lei once again, only for Yu Dabao to add a third in the 80th minute when he headed home from a corner just 19 seconds after coming on as a substitute.