2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup

Last updated

2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup
كأس آسيا تحت 23 سنة 2026
2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup logo.svg
Tournament details
Host countrySaudi Arabia
Dates6–24 January
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue4 (in 2 host cities)
← 2024
2028 →
All statistics correct as of 2 October 2025.

The 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup will be the seventh edition of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. The tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia between 7 and 25 January. [1]

Contents

Japan are the defending champions, having won the 2024 edition.

Host selection

In July 2023, the AFC Competitions Committee announced that each non-Olympic edition of the tournament would be hosted by the same association hosting the following AFC Asian Cup. [2] Therefore Saudi Arabia will be hosting the 2026 edition.

Qualification

.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Team qualified Team failed to qualify Team withdrew or suspended Not an AFC member 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification map.svg
  Team qualified
  Team failed to qualify
  Team withdrew or suspended
  Not an AFC member

Qualification matches were played between 3 and 9 September 2025. [1] [3]

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

TeamMethod of
qualification		Date of
qualification		Total times
qualified		Last time
qualified		Previous best
performance
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Hosts1 July 20237 2024 Winners (2022)
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Group A winners9 September 20257 2024 Third place (2013)
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Group B winners9 September 20257 2024 Winners (2016, 2024)
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam Group C winners9 September 20256 2024 Runners-up (2018)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Group D winners9 September 20257 2024 Third place (2020)
Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan Group E winners9 September 20251——
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Group F winners9 September 20256 2024 Quarter-finals (2020)
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Group G winners9 September 20257 2024 Winners (2013)
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar Group H winners9 September 20256 2024 Third place (2018)
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran Group I winners9 September 20255 2022 Quarter-finals (2016)
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Group J winners9 September 20257 2024 Winners (2020)
Flag of Syria (2025-).svg  Syria Group K winners9 September 20255 2020 Quarter-finals (2013, 2020)
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Best runners-up 9 September 20256 2024 Group stage (2013, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2024)
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan Second-best runners-up 9 September 20257 2024 Winners (2018)
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Third-best runners-up 9 September 20251——
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates Fourth-best runners-up 9 September 20256 2024 Quarter-finals (2013, 2016, 2020)

Venues

Four stadiums will be used, two (Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City and Al-Shabab Club Stadium) of the host stadiums from the 2027 AFC Asian Cup were selected for the tournament.

Jeddah
class=notpageimage|
Location of the host cities of the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City King Abdullah Sports City Hall
Capacity: 27,000Capacity: 1,000
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City.jpg King Abdullah Sports City Hall.jpg
Riyadh
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Al-Shabab Club Stadium
Capacity: 22,188Capacity: 13,537

Draw

The draw took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 2 October 2025 at 15:00 MST (UTC+8). [4]

The 16 teams were placed into four groups of four teams, with seeding based on their performance in the previous three editions of the tournament (2020, 2022, and 2024). As hosts, Saudi Arabia were ranked as the top seeded team. [5]

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4
  1. Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia (hosts)
  2. Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
  3. Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
  4. Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq

Match officials

To be confirmed.

Squads

Players born on or after 1 January 2003 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team will register a squad of 18 to 23 players, including a minimum of three goalkeepers (Regulations Article 26.3).

Group stage

All times are local, SAST (UTC+3).

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia (H)00000000Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 00000000
3Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 00000000
4Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan 00000000
First match(es) will be played: 6 January 2026. Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Vietnam  Flag of Vietnam.svgvFlag of Jordan.svg  Jordan
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Kyrgyzstan  Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svgvFlag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Jordan  Flag of Jordan.svgvFlag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Jeddah
Saudi Arabia  Flag of Saudi Arabia.svgvFlag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Jeddah
Jordan  Flag of Jordan.svgvFlag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 00000000Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 00000000
3Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 00000000
4Flag of Syria (2025-).svg  Syria 00000000
First match(es) will be played: 7 January 2026. Source: AFC
Japan  Flag of Japan.svgvFlag of Syria (2025-).svg  Syria
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Syria  Flag of Syria (2025-).svgvFlag of Qatar.svg  Qatar
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Jeddah
United Arab Emirates  Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svgvFlag of Japan.svg  Japan
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Japan  Flag of Japan.svgvFlag of Qatar.svg  Qatar
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 00000000Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 00000000
3Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 00000000
4Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 00000000
First match(es) will be played: 7 January 2026. Source: AFC
Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svgvFlag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh
South Korea  Flag of South Korea.svgvFlag of Iran.svg  Iran
Al-Shabab Club Stadium, Riyadh
Lebanon  Flag of Lebanon.svgvFlag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Al-Shabab Club Stadium, Riyadh
Iran  Flag of Iran.svgvFlag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh
Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svgvFlag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh
Iran  Flag of Iran.svgvFlag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon
Al-Shabab Club Stadium, Riyadh

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq 00000000Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 00000000
3Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 00000000
4Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 00000000
First match(es) will be played: 8 January 2026. Source: AFC
Iraq  Flag of Iraq.svgvFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh
Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svgvFlag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Al-Shabab Club Stadium, Riyadh
China  Flag of the People's Republic of China.svgvFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Al-Shabab Club Stadium, Riyadh
Thailand  Flag of Thailand.svgvFlag of Iraq.svg  Iraq
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh
Iraq  Flag of Iraq.svgvFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh
Thailand  Flag of Thailand.svgvFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Al-Shabab Club Stadium, Riyadh

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-outs will be used to decide the winner if necessary.

Bracket

 
 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
 
          
 
 
 
 
A1
 
 
 
 B2
 
 Winner Quarter-final 1
 
 
 
 Winner Quarter-final 2
 
 C1
 
 
 
 D2
 
 Winner Semi-final 1
 
 
 
 Winner Semi-final 2
 
 B1
 
 
 
 A2
 
 Winner Quarter-final 3
 
 
 
 Winner Quarter-final 4 Third place play-off
 
 D1
 
 
 
 C2
 
 
 
 
 
 

Quarter-finals

Winner Group AQF1Runner-up Group B
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Jeddah
Winner Group BQF2Runner-up Group A
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Winner Group DQF3Runner-up Group C
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Winner Group CQF4Runner-up Group D
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Jeddah

Semi-finals

Winner Quarter-final 1vWinner Quarter-final 2
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Jeddah
Winner Quarter-final 3vWinner Quarter-final 4
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah

Third place play-off

Loser Semi-final 1vLoser Semi-final 2
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah

Final

Winner Semi-final 1vWinner Semi-final 2
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Jeddah

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "AFC Competitions Calendar (Jul 2025 - Jun 2026)" (PDF). AFC.
  2. ↑ "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". Asian Football Confederation. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  3. ↑ "Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers groups finalised". Asian Football Confederation. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  4. ↑ "Road to Saudi Arabia 2026 glory paved". the-afc.com. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  5. ↑ الاتحاد الآسيوي يحدد موعد قرعة كأس آسيا دون 23 عاماً في السعودية [The AFC sets the date for the draw for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia] (in Arabic). Lebanese Football Association. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.