2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup

Last updated
2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup
كأس آسيا تحت 17 سنة 2025
AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2025 logo.png
Tournament details
Host countrySaudi Arabia
Dates3–20 April
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan (2nd title)
Runners-upFlag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Tournament statistics
Matches played31
Goals scored101 (3.26 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Asilbek Aliev
(5 goals)
Best player(s) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Sadriddin Khasanov
Best goalkeeper Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Nematulloh Rustamjonov
Fair play awardFlag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
2023
2026

The 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup was the 20th edition of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup (including previous editions of the AFC U-16 Championship and AFC U-17 Championship), the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-17 national teams of Asia.

Contents

On 24 May 2024, the AFC announced that Saudi Arabia would host the tournament. [1] It was the first of the four consecutive AFC U-17 Asian Cup held in Saudi Arabia, preceding the 2026, 2027 and 2028 tournament, which also held in Saudi Arabia.

A total of 16 teams played in the tournament. The top eight teams of the tournament (=all quarter-finalists) qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar as the AFC representatives, besides Qatar who qualified automatically as the host. [2]

Japan were the title holders, having won their fourth title in 2023. They were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia then lost the final to Uzbekistan, who also defeated them in the group stage, despite the latter having two players dismissed in the first half.

Qualification

Qualification matches were played between 19 and 27 October 2024. [3]

Qualified teams

A total of 16 teams including hosts Saudi Arabia qualified for the final tournament.

Team [4] Qualified asAppearancePrevious best performance
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Hosts12thChampions (1985, 1988)
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea Group A winners12thChampions (2010, 2014)
Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan Group B winners3rdGroup stage (2018, 2023)
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Group C winners16thChampions (1986, 2002)
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Group D winners13thChampions (1998)
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan Group E winners11thChampions (2012)
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Group F winners17thChampions (1994, 2006, 2018, 2023)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Group G winners8thSemi-finals (2010, 2014, 2018)
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates Group H winners8thRunners-up ( 1990 )
Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen Group I winners8thRunners-up (2002)
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan Group J winners5thRunners-up (2018)
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Best runners-up 16thChampions (1992, 2004)
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 2nd best runners-up 9thFourth place ( 2000 )
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 3rd best runners-up 7thFourth place (1990)
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 4th best runners-up 13thChampions (2008)
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 5th best runners-up 11thChampions (1996, 2000)
1Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Venues

Four stadiums in two host cities were used for the tournament.

Jeddah
Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium
Capacity: 25,000Capacity: 1,000
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City.jpg King Abdullah Sports City Hall.jpg
Location of the stadiums of the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup (Saudi Arabia)
Taif
King Fahd Sports City Stadium Okadh Sport Club Stadium
Capacity: 20,000Capacity: 1,500
King Fahd Stadium THAILAND U-17 VS SAUDI ARABIA U-17.jpg Okadh Sport Club Stadium.jpg

Match officials

Referees
Assistant referees

Draw

The draw of the final tournament was held on 23 January 2025 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams, with the teams seeded according to their final rankings across the previous three editions (2016, 2018, 2023), with the hosts Saudi Arabia automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw. [5]

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4
  1. Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia (hosts)
  2. Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
  3. Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
  4. Flag of Iran.svg  Iran

Squads

Players born between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2010 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team had to register a squad of minimum 18 players and maximum 23 players, minimum three of whom must have been goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 26.3). [6]

Group stage

The group winners and runners-up advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings: [6]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

All match times are in local time, AST (UTC+3).

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 330092+79 Knockout stage and
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia (H)32015506
3Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 31024403
4Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 30032970
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svg4–1Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Report Mexes Soccerball shade.svg40'
Okadh Sport Club Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 118
Referee: Mahmoud Al-Sawalmeh (Jordan)
Saudi Arabia  Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg2–1Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Report
King Fahd Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 498
Referee: Mohammed Al-Shammari (Qatar)

China  Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg1–2Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
Report
Okadh Sport Club Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 79
Referee: Venkatesh Ramachandran (India)
Thailand  Flag of Thailand.svg1–3Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Report
King Fahd Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 318
Referee: Koki Nagamine (Japan)

Thailand  Flag of Thailand.svg0–2Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Report
Okadh Sport Club Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 60
Referee: Kim Yu-jeong (South Korea)
Saudi Arabia  Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg0–3Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
Report
King Fahd Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 1,031
Referee: Daniel Elder (Australia)

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 311175+24 [a] Knockout stage and
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 31114514 [a]
3Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 31114514 [a]
4Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 30303303
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. 1 2 3 Head-to-head points: Japan 3, United Arab Emirates 3, Australia 3. Head-to-head goal difference: Japan +2, United Arab Emirates –1, Australia –1. Head-to-head points between the United Arab Emirates and Australia: United Arab Emirates 3, Australia 0.
Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg1–1Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam
Report
Okadh Sport Club Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 70
Referee: Kim Yu-jeong (South Korea)
Japan  Flag of Japan.svg4–1Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates
Report
King Fahd Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 53
Referee: Faisal Al-Balawi (Saudi Arabia)

Vietnam  Flag of Vietnam.svg1–1Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Report
Okadh Sport Club Stadium, Taif
Referee: Morteza Mansourian (Iran)
United Arab Emirates  Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg2–0Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Report
King Fahd Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 76
Referee: Jin Jingyuan (China)

Japan  Flag of Japan.svg2–3Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Report
Okadh Sport Club Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 144
Referee: Dong Fangyu (China)
Vietnam  Flag of Vietnam.svg1–1Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates
Report
King Fahd Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 59
Referee: Mohammed Al-Shammari (Qatar)

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 330071+69 Knockout stage and
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 320171+66
3Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen 31023523
4Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan 3003010100
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
South Korea  Flag of South Korea.svg0–1Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia
Report Evandra Soccerball shade.svg90+2'
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 950
Referee: Jin Jingyuan (China)
Yemen  Flag of Yemen.svg2–0Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan
Report
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 176
Referee: Dong Fangyu (China)

Indonesia  Flag of Indonesia.svg4–1Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen
Report Al-Garash Soccerball shade.svg52' (pen.)
Afghanistan  Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg0–6Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Report
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 39
Referee: Mahmoud Al-Sawalmeh (Jordan)

South Korea  Flag of South Korea.svg1–0Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen
Report
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 152
Referee: Faisal Al-Balawi (Saudi Arabia)
Afghanistan  Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg0–2Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia
Report
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 1,122
Referee: Venkatesh Ramachandran (India)

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan 32015506 Knockout stage and
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 312063+35
3Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 31116604
4Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 30124731
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Tajikistan  Flag of Tajikistan.svg2–1Flag of Oman.svg  Oman
Report
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 30
Referee: Torphong Somsing (Thailand)
Iran  Flag of Iran.svg1–1Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea
Report
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 25
Referee: Daniel Elder (Australia)

North Korea  Flag of North Korea.svg3–0Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan
Report
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 36
Referee: Faisal Al-Balawi (Saudi Arabia)
Oman  Flag of Oman.svg3–2Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Report
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 25
Referee: Mohammed Al-Shammari (Qatar)

Iran  Flag of Iran.svg1–3Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan
Report
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 38
Referee: Koki Nagamine (Japan)
Oman  Flag of Oman.svg2–2Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea
Report
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 30
Referee: Jin Jingyuan (China)

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of 90 minutes of normal playing time, the match would be decided by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner; no extra time would be played. [6]

All eight teams that reached the knockout stage qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Bracket

 
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
 
          
 
13 April 2025
 
 
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 3
 
17 April 2025
 
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 1
 
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 3
 
14 April 2025
 
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 0
 
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 0
 
20 April 2025
 
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 6
 
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 2
 
13 April 2025
 
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 0
 
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2 (2)
 
17 April 2025
 
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia (p)2 (3)
 
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia (p)1 (3)
 
14 April 2025
 
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 1 (1)
 
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan 2 (3)
 
 
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea (p)2 (5)
 

Quarter-finals

Japan  Flag of Japan.svg2–2Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Report
Penalties
2–3
Okadh Sport Club Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 786
Referee: Daniel Elder (Australia)

Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svg3–1Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates
Report Buti Soccerball shade.svg67'
King Fahd Sports City Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 116
Referee: Kim Yu-jeong (South Korea)

Indonesia  Flag of Indonesia.svg0–6Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea
Report
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 436
Referee: Morteza Mansourian (Iran)

Semi-finals

Saudi Arabia  Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg1–1Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
A. Saeed Soccerball shade.svg90+12' (pen.) Report Oh Ha-ram Soccerball shade.svg45'
Penalties
3–1
Okadh Sport Club Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 790
Referee: Koki Nagamine (Japan)

Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svg3–0Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea
Report
King Fahd Sports City Stadium, Taif
Attendance: 75
Referee: Jin Jingyuan (China)

Final

Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svg2–0Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Report
King Fahd Sports City Stadium, Taif
Referee: Mohammed Al-Shammari (Qatar)

Winners

 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup winners 
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
Uzbekistan
Second title

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

Top goalscorer [7] Most Valuable Player [8] Best Goalkeeper [9] Fair Play award
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Asilbek Aliev (5 goals) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Sadriddin Khasanov Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Nematulloh Rustamjonov Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia

Goalscorers

There were 101 goals scored in 31 matches, for an average of 3.26 goals per match.

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Qualified teams for FIFA U-17 World Cup

The following nine teams from AFC qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup; Qatar qualified automatically as the hosts.

TeamQualified onPrevious appearances in FIFA U-17 World Cup 1
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 14 March 20247 (1985, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2005)
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 6 April 20253 (1985, 1987, 1989 )
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 3 (2011, 2013, 2023)
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 7 April 20251 ( 2023 )
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 10 April 202510 ( 1993 , 1995, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2023)
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 7 (1987, 2003, 2007 , 2009, 2015, 2019, 2023)
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 3 (1991, 2009, 2013 )
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 11 April 20255 (2005, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017)
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan 2 (2007, 2019)
1Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

See also

References

  1. "Pivotal reforms approved by AFC Competitions Committee". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Association. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. "Qatar appointed as host of FIFA U-17 World Cup™ annually from 2025 to 2029". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 March 2024.
  3. "AFC Competitions Calendar (Jul 2024 - Jun 2025)" (PDF). the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 15 May 2024.
  4. "#AFCU17 Qualifiers - MD5: Results & Reports". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  5. "AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2025: #AFCU17 draw to determine Saudi Arabia 2025 battles". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 "AFC U17 Asian Cup 2025 Competition Regulations" (PDF). the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  7. "Uzbekistan's Aliev bags Top Scorer honour". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Association. 20 April 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  8. "Uzbekistan's Khasanov takes Most Valuable Player award". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Association. 20 April 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  9. "Uzbekistan's Rustamjonov scoops Best Goalkeeper award". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Association. 20 April 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.