| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Bangladesh |
| Dates | 5–28 October |
| Teams | 18 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
|
| Third place | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 40 |
| Goals scored | 122 (3.05 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Iraq Haris Mohammed (7 goals) [1] |
← 1977 1980 → | |
The 1978 AFC Youth Championship was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 5 October to 28 October 1978. [1] It also served as qualification for the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship.
| Dhaka | |
|---|---|
| Bangabandhu National Stadium | |
| Capacity: 55,000 | |
 | |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iraq | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | +17 | 6 |
 Indonesia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 |
 Malaysia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 2 |
 Jordan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | −13 | 0 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 North Korea | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 7 |
 Saudi Arabia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 6 |
 Japan | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 4 |
 India | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 3 |
 Sri Lanka | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 19 | −18 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–1 | India |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kuwait | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 7 |
 Bahrain | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 |
 Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 |
 North Yemen | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 3 |
 Singapore | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 15 | −12 | 1 |
| Bangladesh | 2–2 | Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Kuwait | 1–1 | North Yemen |
|---|---|---|
| Bahrain | 1–0 | North Yemen |
|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 0–2 | Kuwait |
|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 1–1 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Korea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 5 |
 Iran | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 |
 China | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 2 |
 Afghanistan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | −11 | 0 |
| Iran | 3–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Korea Republic | 2–1 | China |
|---|---|---|
| Iran | 1–1 | Korea Republic |
|---|---|---|
| China | 1–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Iraq | 2–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 1–0 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
Note: Iran had originally won 1–0 against Kuwait, but they were found to have fielded an over-age player; the result was reversed and Iran were ejected from the competition.
| South Korea | 0–0 |  North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||
| 6–5 | ||
| Kuwait | 1–1 Third place shared | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 1–1 Title shared | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 AFC Youth Championship |
|---|
 South Korea Fourth title |
| 1978 AFC Youth Championship |
|---|
 Iraq Third title |
The following teams qualified for the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship.
Indonesia , replacing semi-finalists Iraq, Kuwait, North Korea. Japan , as host country South Korea , as champions
