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2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup

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The 2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup was the 21st edition of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup (including previous editions of the AFC U-17 Championship and AFC U-16 Championship), the annual international youth association football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-17 national teams of Asia. It was the second of four consecutive U-17 Asian Cups held in Saudi Arabia from 2025 to 2028.

Host countrySaudi Arabia
Dates5–22 May 2026
Teams15 (from 1 confederation)
Venues4 (in 1 host city)
Quick facts كٲس اسيا تحت 17 سنة, Tournament details ...
2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup
كٲس اسيا تحت 17 سنة
Tournament details
Host countrySaudi Arabia
Dates5–22 May 2026
Teams15 (from 1 confederation)
Venues4 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Japan (5th title)
Runners-up China
Tournament statistics
Matches played28
Goals scored91 (3.25 per match)
Attendance4,292 (153 per match)
Top scorer(s)Japan Maki Kitahara
(6 goals)
Best playerJapan Maki Kitahara
Best goalkeeperJapan Kosei Oshita
Fair play award Saudi Arabia
← 2025
2027 →
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The top eight teams of the tournament qualified for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar as the AFC representatives. Uzbekistan were the defending champions, having won their second title in 2025. They were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual winners Japan.

Qualification

Main article: 2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualification

The host country of the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup (Qatar) and the top eight teams of the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup (including hosts Saudi Arabia) qualified automatically, while the other seven teams were decided by qualification. There was one round of qualification matches, which was held between 22–30 November 2025.

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the tournament. Initially, North Korea also qualified, but withdrew due to concerns related to the 2026 Iran war, leaving the tournament at 15 teams.[1]

More information Team, Qualification method ...
Team Qualification method Date of qualification Appearance(s) Previous best performance[a]
Total First Last
 Saudi Arabia Hosts 24 May 2024 13th 1985 2025 Champions (1985, 1988)
 Indonesia AFC teams at the
2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup		 5 August 2025 8th 1986 Fourth place (1990)
 Japan 18th 1985 Champions (1994, 2006, 2018, 2023)
 Qatar 12th 1985 2023 Champions (1990)
 South Korea 17th 1986 2025 Champions (1986, 2002)
 Tajikistan 6th 2006 Runners-up (2018)
 United Arab Emirates 9th 1990 Runners-up (1990)
 Uzbekistan 12th 1994 Champions (2012, 2025)
 China Group A winners 30 November 2025 17th 1985 Champions (1992, 2004)
 Yemen Group B winners 9th 2002 Runners-up (2002)
 Vietnam Group C winners 10th 2000 Fourth place (2000)
 India Group D winners 10th 1990 2023 Quarter-finalists (2002, 2018)
 Australia Group E winners 9th 2008 2025 Semi-finalists (2010, 2014, 2018)
 Thailand Group F winners 14th 1985 Champions (1998)
 Myanmar Group G winners 5th 1986 2006 Group stage (1986, 2000, 2002, 2006)
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  1. [a]
    Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.

Venues

The tournament is held in the following venues in Jeddah.[2]

More information Jeddah, JeddahLocation of the host cities of the 2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup. ...
Jeddah
Location of the host cities of the 2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup.
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch A)
Capacity: 1,000 Capacity: TBC
King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch B) King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch C)
Capacity: TBC Capacity: TBC
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Draw

The draw took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 12 February 2026 at 15:00 MST (UTC+8).[3][4][5]

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 (2018, 2023, and 2025). As hosts, Saudi Arabia were ranked as the top seeded team.[6]

More information Pot 1, Pot 2 ...
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
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Match officials

The following referees and assistant referees were appointed for the tournament.

Referees
  • Australia Adam Kersey
  • Belgium Lothar D'hondt
  • China Du Jianxin
  • India Harish Kundu
  • Kuwait Saud Al-Samhan
  • Kyrgyzstan Veronika Bernatskaia
  • Oman Yahya Al-Balushi
  • Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Shehri
  • Singapore Clarence Leow
  • Thailand Wiwat Jumpao-on
  • United Arab Emirates Sultan Al-Hammadi
  • Uzbekistan Akobir Shukurullaev
Assistant referees
  • Australia Owen Goldrick
  • Australia Bradley Wright
  • Belgium Romain Devillers
  • China Tang Chao
  • India Arun Pillai
  • Kuwait Saud Al-Rashedi
  • Kyrgyzstan Ramina Tsoi
  • Oman Mohammed Al-Ghazali
  • Oman Hamooh Al-Shuaibi
  • Saudi Arabia Omar Al-Jamal
  • Saudi Arabia Saad Al-Subaie
  • Singapore Andy Tan
  • Thailand Pattarapong Kijsathit
  • United Arab Emirates Ali Rashid Al-Nuaimi
  • Uzbekistan Islom Azimov
  • Uzbekistan Alisher Usmanov

Squads

Main article: 2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup squads

Players born between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2011 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 21.3).[7]

Group stage

The group winners and runners-up advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for both the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2027 AFC U-17 Asian Cup. Had Qatar (who automatically qualified for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup as hosts) advanced to the quarter-finals, the best third-placed team would have also qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.[8]

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:[7]: Art. 7.2 

  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 were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were 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 times are local, SAST (UTC+3).

Group A

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Saudi Arabia 3 2 1 0 11 5 +6 7 Knockout stage and
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2  Tajikistan 3 2 1 0 8 5 +3 7
3  Thailand 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
4  Myanmar 3 0 1 2 2 7 −5 1
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Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
More information Saudi Arabia, 4–0 ...
Saudi Arabia 4–0 Myanmar
  • Makki 3', 23'
  • Bu Shaqraa 58'
  • Al-Dawsari 74' (pen.)
 Report
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King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 150
Referee: Akobir Shukurullaev (Uzbekistan)
More information Tajikistan, 2–0 ...
Tajikistan 2–0 Thailand
  • Phetcharayut red-colored football 1' (o.g.)
  • Sanginov 90+7'
 Report
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch B), Jeddah
Attendance: 25
Referee: Yahya Al-Balushi (Oman)
More information Thailand, 0–2 ...
Thailand 0–2 Saudi Arabia
Report
  • Al-Yami 4'
  • Al-Okrush 90+2'
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King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 150
Referee: Clarence Leow (Singapore)
More information Myanmar, 0–1 ...
Myanmar 0–1 Tajikistan
Report Makhtumov 28'
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch B), Jeddah
Attendance: 37
Referee: Saud Al-Samhan (Kuwait)
More information Saudi Arabia, 5–5 ...
Saudi Arabia 5–5 Tajikistan
  • Saeed 13'
  • Al-Shamrani 18', 33' (pen.)
  • Al-Buri 39'
  • Bayomi 54'
 Report
  • Anvarzod 27', 49'
  • Makhtumov 44'
  • Sanginov 83'
  • Mirakhmadov 90+7'
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King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 125
Referee: Lothar D'hondt (Belgium)
More information Thailand, 2–2 ...
Thailand 2–2 Myanmar
  • Pakorn 30'
  • Gabert 75'
 Report Sai Myat Min 19', 22'
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch B), Jeddah
Attendance: 73

Group B

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Japan 3 3 0 0 8 3 +5 9 Knockout stage and
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2  China 3 1 0 2 3 3 0 3[a]
3  Qatar 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3[a] FIFA U-17 World Cup
4  Indonesia 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3[a]
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Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Head-to-head points: China 3, Qatar 3, Indonesia 3. Head-to-head goal differences: China +1, Qatar 0, Indonesia –1.
More information Japan, 3–1 ...
Japan 3–1 Qatar
 Report Tokode 25'
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch C), Jeddah
Referee: Wiwat Jumpao-on (Thailand)
More information Indonesia, 1–0 ...
Indonesia 1–0 China
Keanu 87' Report
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch A), Jeddah
Attendance: 330
Referee: Abdullah Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia)
More information China, 1–2 ...
China 1–2 Japan
Zhao Songyuan 48' Report
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch C), Jeddah
Attendance: 200
Referee: Sultan Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
More information Qatar, 2–0 ...
Qatar 2–0 Indonesia
  • Tokode 57'
  • Larbi 66'
 Report
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch A), Jeddah
Attendance: 267
More information Japan, 3–1 ...
Japan 3–1 Indonesia
  • Tsuneyoshi 28'
  • Wada 59'
  • Okamoto 71'
 Report Peres 70'
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch A), Jeddah
Attendance: 268
Referee: Harish Kundu (India)
More information China, 2–0 ...
China 2–0 Qatar
  • He Sifan 14'
  • Zhang Bolin 71'
 Report
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch C), Jeddah
Attendance: 200
Referee: Adam Kersey (Australia)

Group C

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Vietnam 3 2 0 1 5 6 −1 6 Knockout stage and
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2  South Korea 3 1 2 0 5 2 +3 5
3  Yemen 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
4  United Arab Emirates 3 0 1 2 5 7 −2 1
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Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
More information Yemen, 0–1 ...
Yemen 0–1 Vietnam
Report Đậu Quang Hưng 77'
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 312
Referee: Harish Kundu (India)
More information South Korea, 1–1 ...
South Korea 1–1 United Arab Emirates
Ahn Joo-wan 88' Report Al-Jneibi 8'
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch B), Jeddah
Attendance: 100
Referee: Adam Kersey (Australia)
More information Vietnam, 1–4 ...
Vietnam 1–4 South Korea
Lê Sỹ Bách 33' Report
  • An Sun-hyun 84'
  • Ian Nam 86'
  • Ahn Joo-wan 88'
  • Kim Ji-woo 90+4'
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch C), Jeddah
Attendance: 100
Referee: Du Jianxin (China)
More information United Arab Emirates, 2–3 ...
United Arab Emirates 2–3 Yemen
  • H. Ali 25'
  • Al-Meri 62'
 Report
  • Al-Maghdi 49'
  • Basheer 53' (pen.)
  • Sadeq 85'
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch A), Jeddah
Attendance: 90
Referee: Akobir Shukurullaev (Uzbekistan)
More information South Korea, 0–0 ...
South Korea 0–0 Yemen
Report
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch B), Jeddah
Attendance: 252
Referee: Saud Al-Samhan (Kuwait)
More information Vietnam, 3–2 ...
Vietnam 3–2 United Arab Emirates
 Report
  • Al-Mheiri 1'
  • Mahrous 56'
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King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 92
Referee: Wiwat Jumpao-on (Thailand)

Group D

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Uzbekistan 2 2 0 0 5 0 +5 6 Knockout stage and
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2  Australia 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2 3
3  India 2 0 0 2 0 7 −7 0
4  North Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Disqualified
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Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
More information Australia, 4–0 ...
Australia 4–0 India
  • Becvinovski 4'
  • Court 29' (pen.)
  • Demuth 74'
  • Oliveira 86'
 Report
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch C), Jeddah
Attendance: 72
Referee: Lothar D'hondt (Belgium)
More information Uzbekistan, Cancelled ...
Uzbekistan Cancelled North Korea
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch A), Jeddah
More information India, 0–3 ...
India 0–3 Uzbekistan
Report
  • Abduraimov 32' (pen.)
  • Wangkhem red-colored football 60' (o.g.)
  • Ravshanbekov 78'
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 58
Referee: Abdullah Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia)
More information North Korea, Cancelled ...
North Korea Cancelled Australia
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch B), Jeddah
More information Uzbekistan, 2–0 ...
Uzbekistan 2–0 Australia
  • Murodov 28'
  • Ravshanbekov 45'
 Report
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch A), Jeddah
Attendance: 23
Referee: Yahya Al-Balushi (Oman)
More information India, Cancelled ...
India Cancelled North Korea
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch C), Jeddah

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, no extra time is played and a penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winners if necessary.[7]

Bracket

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
15 May – Jeddah (Pitch A)
 
 
  Saudi Arabia 1
 
19 May – Jeddah (Hall)
 
  China 3
 
  China 2
 
16 May – Jeddah (Pitch A)
 
  Australia 0
 
  Vietnam 0
 
22 May – Jeddah (Hall)
 
  Australia 3
 
 China2
 
15 May – Jeddah (Pitch C)
 
 Japan3
 
  Japan 5
 
19 May – Jeddah (Hall)
 
  Tajikistan 0
 
  Japan (p)1 (3)
 
16 May – Jeddah (Pitch C)
 
  Uzbekistan 1 (2)
 
  Uzbekistan (p)2 (5)
 
 
  South Korea 2 (3)
 

Quarter-finals

More information Japan, 5–0 ...
Japan 5–0 Tajikistan
  • Kitahara 42', 60'
  • Saito 69'
  • Satomi 79'
  • Khodzhiev red-colored football 90' (o.g.)
 Report
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch C), Jeddah
Attendance: 75
Referee: Abdullah Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia)
More information Saudi Arabia, 1–3 ...
Saudi Arabia 1–3 China
Bayomi 21' Report
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch A), Jeddah
Attendance: 306
Referee: Akobir Shukurullaev (Uzbekistan)
More information Uzbekistan, 2–2 ...
Uzbekistan 2–2 South Korea
Ravshanbekov 41', 45+2' Report
  • Moon Ji-hwan 22'
  • An Sun-hyun 88'
Penalties
  • Khakimov football with check mark
  • Anvarov football with check mark
  • Abdusoliev football with check mark
  • Mamatov football with check mark
  • Erkinov football with check mark
 5–3
  • football with check mark Jung Ha-won
  • football with check mark Kim Ji-ho
  • football with check mark Ahn Joo-wan
  • football with red X Park Kyung-hoon
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King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch C), Jeddah
Attendance: 81
Referee: Du Jianxin (China)
More information Vietnam, 0–3 ...
Vietnam 0–3 Australia
Report
  • O'Carroll 40'
  • Hassarati 60'
  • Gerald 75'
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Training Stadium (Pitch A), Jeddah
Attendance: 25
Referee: Sultan Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)

Semi-finals

More information Japan, 1–1 ...
Japan 1–1 Uzbekistan
Ezemuokwe 90+7' Report Aliev 28' (pen.)
Penalties
  • Kitahara football with check mark
  • Iwatsuchi football with check mark
  • Wada football with red X
  • Satomi football with red X
  • Motosuna football with check mark
 3–2
  • football with red X Khakimov
  • football with red X Anvarov
  • football with red X Abdusoliev
  • football with check mark Orifkhonov
  • football with check mark Abduraimov
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 80
Referee: Harish Kundu (India)
More information China, 2–0 ...
China 2–0 Australia
 Report
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 306
Referee: Abdullah Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia)

Final

More information China, 2–3 ...
China 2–3 Japan
 Report
Close
King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah
Attendance: 495
Referee: Sultan Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)

Awards

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

More information Top goalscorer, Most Valuable Player ...
Top goalscorer[9] Most Valuable Player[10] Best Goalkeeper[11] Fair Play award
Japan Maki Kitahara (6 goals) Japan Maki Kitahara Japan Kosei Oshita  Saudi Arabia
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Goalscorers

There were 91 goals scored in 28 matches, for an average of 3.25 goals per match.

6 goals

4 goals

  • Uzbekistan Akhrorbek Ravshanbekov

3 goals

2 goals

  • China He Sifan
  • China Wan Xiang
  • Japan Tafuku Satomi
  • Myanmar Sai Myat Min
  • Qatar Ayokunle Samuel Tokode
  • Saudi Arabia Ali Al-Shamrani
  • Saudi Arabia Faisal Bayomi
  • Saudi Arabia Ali Makki
  • South Korea Ahn Joo-wan
  • South Korea An Sun-hyun
  • Tajikistan Munavar Anvarzod
  • Tajikistan Asadbek Makhtumov
  • Tajikistan Parviz Sanginov

1 goal

  • Australia Luke Becvinovski
  • Australia Max Court
  • Australia Luka Demuth
  • Australia Akeem Gerald
  • Australia Georgio Hassarati
  • Australia Oliver O'Carroll
  • Australia Henrique Oliveira
  • China Shuai Weihao
  • China Xie Jin
  • China Zhang Bolin
  • Indonesia Keanu Senjaya
  • Indonesia Peres Tjoe
  • Japan Chimezie Kai Ezemuokwe
  • Japan Anthony Motosuna
  • Japan Arata Okamoto
  • Japan Ryoma Tsuneyoshi
  • Japan Takeshi Wada
  • Qatar Dhiaeddine Larbi
  • Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Dawsari
  • Saudi Arabia Zaid Al-Buri
  • Saudi Arabia Hassan Al-Okrush
  • Saudi Arabia Marwan Al-Yami
  • Saudi Arabia Faris Bu Shaqraa
  • Saudi Arabia Yahya Saeed
  • South Korea Moon Ji-hwan
  • South Korea Kim Ji-woo
  • South Korea Ian Nam
  • Tajikistan Mukhammadzhon Mirakhmadov
  • Thailand David Gabert
  • Thailand Pakorn Suttiprapa
  • United Arab Emirates Butti Al-Jneibi
  • United Arab Emirates Abdulla Al-Meri
  • United Arab Emirates Sultan Al-Mheiri
  • United Arab Emirates Hussain Ali
  • United Arab Emirates Adam Mahrous
  • Uzbekistan Asilbek Aliev
  • Uzbekistan Laziz Abduraimov
  • Uzbekistan Mirkomil Murodov
  • Vietnam Chu Ngọc Nguyễn Lực
  • Vietnam Đậu Quang Hưng
  • Vietnam Lê Sỹ Bách
  • Vietnam Nguyễn Mạnh Cường
  • Vietnam Nguyễn Minh Thủy
  • Yemen Ali Al-Maghdi
  • Yemen Sailan Basheer
  • Yemen Mohammed Sadeq

1 own goal

  • India Denny Singh Wangkhem (against Uzbekistan)
  • Tajikistan Islomdzhon Khodzhiev (against Japan)
  • Thailand Phetcharayut Soboonma (against Tajikistan)

Qualified teams for FIFA U-17 World Cup

The following nine teams from AFC qualified for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar; Qatar automatically qualified as the hosts.

More information Team, Qualified on ...
Team Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA U-17 World Cup1
 Qatar14 March 20247 (1985, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2025)
 Saudi Arabia9 May 20264 (1985, 1987, 1989, 2025)
 Tajikistan3 (2007, 2019, 2025)
 Uzbekistan10 May 20264 (2011, 2013, 2023, 2025)
 Australia13 (1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019)
 Japan12 May 202611 (1993, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2025)
 China6 (1985, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2003, 2005)
 Vietnam13 May 20260 (debut)
 South Korea8 (1987, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2019, 2023, 2025)
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1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Notes

References

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