2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup

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2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup
كأس آسيا تحت 23 سنة 2026
Tournament details
Host countrySaudi Arabia
Dates7–25 January
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
← 2024
2028 →
All statistics correct as of 12 July 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

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  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

To be confirmed.

Draw

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

The 16 teams will be 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. [4]

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
2A200000000
3A300000000
4A400000000
First match(es) will be played: 7 January 2026. Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1B100000000Advance to knockout stage
2B200000000
3B300000000
4B400000000
First match(es) will be played: 8 January 2026. Source: AFC

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1C100000000Advance to knockout stage
2C200000000
3C300000000
4C400000000
First match(es) will be played: 8 January 2026. Source: AFC

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1D100000000Advance to knockout stage
2D200000000
3D300000000
4D400000000
First match(es) will be played: 9 January 2026. Source: AFC

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
 
          
 
 January –
 
 
A1
 
 January –
 
 B2
 
 Winner Quarter-final 3
 
 January –
 
 Winner Quarter-final 4
 
 C1
 
24 January –
 
 D2
 
 Loser Semi-final 1
 
 January –
 
 Loser Semi-final 2
 
 B1
 
25 January –
 
 A2
 
 Winner Semi-final 1
 
 January –
 
 Winner Semi-final 2 Third place play-off
 
 D1
 
 
 
 C2
 
 
 
 
 
 

Quarter-finals

Winner Group AQF1Runner-up Group B
Winner Group BQF2Runner-up Group A
Winner Group DQF3Runner-up Group C
Winner Group CQF4Runner-up Group D

Semi-finals

Winner Quarter-final 1vWinner Quarter-final 2
Winner Quarter-final 3vWinner Quarter-final 4

Third place play-off

Loser Semi-final 1vLoser Semi-final 2

Final

Winner Semi-final 1vWinner Semi-final 2

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. 1 2 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.
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