AFC U-23 Asian Cup
Association football tournament in Asia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The AFC U-23 Asian Cup, previously the AFC U-22 Championship and AFC U-23 Championship, is a biennial international football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. Each edition of the tournament that is in a year divisible by four is linked to the qualification process for the Olympic Games, whereby the top two teams in the tournament qualify directly.
| |
| Organiser(s) | AFC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 (as AFC U-22 Championship) |
| Region | Asia |
| Teams | 16 |
| Current champions |  Japan (3rd title) |
| Most championships | Japan (3 titles) |
 2028 AFC U-23 Asian Cup | |
The first edition was initially set to be held in 2013 and its qualification matches in 2014, but the finals tournament was postponed to be played in January 2014 due to the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup.[1][2][3] In 2016 the tournament was also renamed from the "AFC U-22 Championship" to the "AFC U-23 Championship".[4] The tournament was rebranded as the "AFC U-23 Asian Cup" in 2021.[5]
In July 2023, the AFC announced that each non-Olympic edition of the tournament would be hosted by the same association hosting the next AFC Asian Cup.[6] However, on 24 May 2024, AFC announced that the tournament will be held quadrennially from 2028, with the last non-Olympic qualifiers’ edition held in 2026.[7]
Format
The overview of the competition format in the 2016 tournament was as follows:[8]
- 16 teams competed in the final tournament, including the hosts which were automatically qualified.
- Teams were seeded by the result of 2013 AFC U-22 Championship.
- The tournament was held in 18 days.
- 3 or 4 stadiums in at most 2 cities were needed to host the tournament.
In addition, players would be ineligible for participating in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup if they participated in a higher age group competition (this tournament or the AFC U-20 Asian Cup), though in reality it is rarely enforced.[8]
Results
- Tournament names
- 2013: AFC U-22 Championship
- 2016–2020: AFC U-23 Championship
- 2022–present: AFC U-23 Asian Cup
| Ed. | Year | Hosts | Final | Third place match | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||||
| 1 | 2013 |  Oman |
 Iraq |
1–0 |  Saudi Arabia |
 Jordan |
0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p) |
 South Korea | ||
| 2 | 2016 |  Qatar |
Japan |
3–2 | South Korea |
Iraq |
2–1 (a.e.t.) | Qatar | ||
| 3 | 2018 |  China |
 Uzbekistan |
2–1 (a.e.t.) |  Vietnam |
Qatar |
1–0 | South Korea | ||
| 4 | 2020 |  Thailand |
South Korea |
1–0 (a.e.t.) | Saudi Arabia |
 Australia |
1–0 | Uzbekistan | ||
| 5 | 2022 | Uzbekistan |
Saudi Arabia |
2–0 | Uzbekistan |
Japan |
3–0 | Australia | ||
| 6 | 2024 | Qatar |
Japan |
1–0 | Uzbekistan |
Iraq |
2–1 (a.e.t.) |  Indonesia | ||
| 7 | 2026 | Saudi Arabia |
Japan |
4–0 | China |
Vietnam |
2–2 (a.e.t.) (7–6 p) |
South Korea | ||
| 8 | 2028 | Japan |
||||||||
Teams reaching the top four
| Team | Title(s) | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan |
3 (2016, 2024, 2026) | – | 1 (2022) | – | 4 |
| Uzbekistan |
1 (2018) | 2 (2022, 2024) | – | 1 (2020) | 4 |
| Saudi Arabia |
1 (2022) | 2 (2013, 2020) | – | – | 3 |
| South Korea |
1 (2020) | 1 (2016) | – | 3 (2013, 2018, 2026) | 5 |
| Iraq |
1 (2013) | – | 2 (2016, 2024) | – | 3 |
| Vietnam |
– | 1 (2018) | 1 (2026) | – | 2 |
| China |
– | 1 (2026) | – | – | 1 |
| Qatar |
– | – | 1 (2018) | 1 (2016) | 2 |
| Australia |
– | – | 1 (2020) | 1 (2022) | 2 |
| Jordan |
– | – | 1 (2013) | – | 1 |
| Indonesia |
– | – | – | 1 (2024) | 1 |
- Results from host teams shown in bold
Overall team records
In this ranking 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, then by goals scored.
- As of 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup
| Rank | Team | Part | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Point(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 7 | 35 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 68 | 26 | +42 | 77 |
| 2 | South Korea | 7 | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 60 | 36 | +24 | 77 |
| 3 | Uzbekistan | 7 | 34 | 19 | 5 | 10 | 61 | 27 | +34 | 62 |
| 4 | Iraq | 7 | 32 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 51 | 33 | +18 | 62 |
| 5 | Saudi Arabia | 7 | 31 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 47 | 28 | +19 | 54 |
| 6 | Australia | 7 | 29 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 26 | 29 | −3 | 42 |
| 7 | Qatar | 6 | 25 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 37 | –2 | 40 |
| 8 | Jordan | 7 | 27 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 35 |
| 9 | Vietnam | 6 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 32 | 37 | −5 | 32 |
| 10 |  United Arab Emirates | 6 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 29 | −9 | 24 |
| 11 |  Syria | 5 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 20 |
| 12 |  Iran | 5 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 18 |
| 13 | Thailand | 6 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 30 | −10 | 15 |
| 14 | China | 6 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 29 | −13 | 15 |
| 15 |  North Korea | 4 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 13 |
| 16 | Indonesia | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 7 |
| 17 |  Palestine | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 4 |
| 18 |  Turkmenistan | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 |
| 19 |  Kuwait | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 19 | −14 | 4 |
| 20 |  Malaysia | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 22 | −16 | 4 |
| 21 |  Lebanon | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 |
| 22 | Oman | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 |
| 23 |  Tajikistan | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 18 | −13 | 3 |
| 24 |  Bahrain | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 |
| 25 |  Kyrgyzstan | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
| 26 |  Myanmar | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 0 |
| 27 |  Yemen | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 15 | −13 | 0 |
Champions by regions
| Regional federation | Champion(s) | Title(s) |
|---|---|---|
| EAFF (East Asia) | Japan (3) South Korea (1) |
4 |
| WAFF (West Asia) | Iraq (1) Saudi Arabia (1) |
2 |
| CAFA (Central Asia) | Uzbekistan (1) |
1 |
| AFF (Southeast Asia) | – | 0 |
| SAFF (South Asia) | – | 0 |
Comprehensive team results by tournament
- Legend
|
|
|
| Teams | 2013 | 2016 | 2018 | 2020 | 2022 | 2024 | 2026 | 2028 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia |
QF | GS | GS | 3rd | 4th | GS | QF | 7 | |
| Bahrain |
• | • | • | GS | • | • | • | 1 | |
| China |
GS | GS | GS | GS | × | GS | 2nd | 6 | |
| Indonesia |
• | • | • | • | • | 4th | • | 1 | |
| Iran |
GS | QF | • | GS | GS | • | GS | 5 | |
| Iraq |
1st | 3rd | QF | GS | QF | 3rd | GS | 7 | |
| Japan |
QF | 1st | QF | GS | 3rd | 1st | 1st | Q | 8 |
| Jordan |
3rd | QF | GS | QF | GS | GS | QF | 7 | |
| Kuwait |
GS | • | × | • | GS | GS | • | 3 | |
| Kyrgyzstan |
• | • | • | • | • | • | GS | 1 | |
| Lebanon |
• | • | • | • | • | • | GS | 1 | |
| Malaysia |
• | • | QF | • | GS | GS | • | 3 | |
| Myanmar |
GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | |
| North Korea |
GS | QF | GS | GS | × | × | × | 4 | |
| Oman |
GS | • | GS | • | • | • | • | 2 | |
| Palestine |
• | • | QF | • | • | • | • | 1 | |
| Qatar |
• | 4th | 3rd | GS | GS | QF | GS | 6 | |
| Saudi Arabia |
2nd | GS | GS | 2nd | 1st | QF | GS | 7 | |
| South Korea |
4th | 2nd | 4th | 1st | QF | QF | 4th | 7 | |
| Syria |
QF | GS | GS | QF | • | • | GS | 5 | |
| Tajikistan |
• | • | • | • | GS | GS | • | 2 | |
| Thailand |
• | GS | GS | QF | GS | GS | GS | 6 | |
| Turkmenistan |
• | • | • | • | QF | • | • | 1 | |
| United Arab Emirates |
QF | QF | • | QF | GS | GS | QF | 6 | |
| Uzbekistan |
GS | GS | 1st | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | QF | 7 | |
| Vietnam |
• | GS | 2nd | GS | QF | QF | 3rd | 6 | |
| Yemen |
GS | GS | × | • | • | • | • | 2 | |
| Total | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
Results at the Olympics (2016–present)
| Nation |  2016 |
2020 |
 2024 |
 2028 |
2032 |
Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
– | 12 | – | Q | 2 | |
| Iraq |
12 | – | 10 | 2 | ||
| Japan |
10 | 4 | 5 | 3 | ||
| Saudi Arabia |
– | 15 | – | 1 | ||
| South Korea |
5 | 5 | – | 2 | ||
| Uzbekistan |
– | – | 13 | 1 |
Awards
| Tournament | Most Valuable Player | Top goalscorer(s) | Goals | Best goalkeeper | Fair play award |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amjad Kalaf |
Kaveh Rezaei |
5 | Not awarded | South Korea | |
| Shoya Nakajima |
Ahmed_Alaaeldin |
6 | Japan | ||
| Odiljon Hamrobekov |
Almoez Ali |
Vietnam | |||
| Won Du-jae |
Jaroensak Wonggorn |
3 | Song Bum-keun |
Saudi Arabia | |
| Ayman Yahya |
Cho Young-wook |
Nawaf Al-Aqidi | |||
| Joel Chima Fujita |
Ali Jasim |
4 | Abduvohid Nematov |
Uzbekistan | |
| Ryūnosuke Satō |
Nguyễn Đình Bắc |
Rui Araki |
South Korea |