The CTFA International Tournament (Chinese: 2017中華足協國際邀請賽) was a tier 1 international football competition held in Taipei, Taiwan from 1-5 December 2017, organized by the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA).[1] Results involving the Philippines national football team led to strong reactions by Filipino football fans, and disputes between football administrators.[2] The six games in the tournament were authorized by FIFA as International “A” Matches.[3]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Taiwan |
| Dates | 1–5 December |
| Teams | 4 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Chinese Taipei (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Philippines |
| Third place |  East Timor |
| Fourth place |  Laos |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 17 (2.83 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Li Mao (4 goals) |
Participating nations
Four nations participated in the tournament.[4]
| Nation | FIFA ranking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese Taipei | 135 | Hosts |
| Laos | 184 | |
| Philippines | 118 | The Philippines were initially planning to send the national under-23 squad, but decided to include national team players from Davao Aguilas and Stallion Laguna. Most of the coaching and backroom staff were from the national under-23 team.[5][3] |
| Timor-Leste | 196 |
Venue
| Taipei | Taiwan |
|---|---|
| Taipei Municipal Stadium |   National Stadium CTFA International Tournament (Taiwan) |
| Capacity: 20,000 | |
 |
Matches
- All times are National Standard Time – UTC+8
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Taipei |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 9 | — |
| Philippines |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | –2 | 3 | 3–2 |
| East Timor |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | –2 | 3 | 2–2 |
| Laos |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | –3 | 3 | 3–4 |
| Laos | 1–3 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
Kongmathilath  90+5' |
Report |
|
| Laos | 2–1 | East Timor |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | Cruz 84' |
| Chinese Taipei | 3–0 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Chinese Taipei | 3–1 | East Timor |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | Gama 58' |
| East Timor | 1–0 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Garcia 89' |
Report |
| Chinese Taipei | 2–0 | Laos |
|---|---|---|
| Li Mao 9', 12' |
Report |
| CTFA International Tournament winner |
|---|
 Chinese Taipei First title |
Goalscorers
There were 17 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 2.83 goals per match.
4 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Aftermath
After the 1-2 win–loss result by the Philippines national football team, particularly the loss to 196th-ranked Timor-Leste on the seventh anniversary of the "Miracle in Hanoi", Philippines fans reacted with disappointment and anger.[8] Former national team manager Dan Palami joined in criticism of team selection, although the Philippines Football Federation was limited by player commitments to teams involved in the 2017 Philippines Football League finals series.[9] The decision to send a team to the tournament during the PFL finals was also questioned, along with concern about the expected effect on the Philippines national team's FIFA World Ranking,[8] which subsequently dropped six spots in the December 2017 FIFA rankings.[10] Vietnam surpassed the Philippines as top national men's team in Southeast Asia.[11] Jefferson Cheng, manager of the CTFA International Tournament team and owner of Davao Aguilas FC, defended selection decisions, asking that supporters consider the value of giving young players experience in International “A” Matches.[2]
In contrast, the Chinese Taipei Football Association reacted enthusiastically to the Chinese Taipei 3-0 tournament victory, reporting it as a high point in their history.[12]
The Timor-Leste national team was reported by the Taipei Times to be "delighted" by their unexpected win over the Philippines after losing each of their earlier games by one goal.[13] Timor-Leste rose five spots in the December 2017 FIFA rankings on the strength of this win.[14]
Notes
- Originally scheduled for 1 December but postponed because the Timor Leste team could not arrive in Taiwan on time due to the eruption of Mount Agung.[6][7]
References
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