AFC U-23 Asian Cup facts for kids
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| Organising body | AFC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 (as AFC U-22 Championship) |
| Region | Asia and Oceania |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Current champions |  Saudi Arabia(1st title) |
| Most successful team(s) |  Iraq Japan Saudi Arabia South Korea Uzbekistan(1 title each) |
The AFC U-23 Asian Cup, previously the AFC U-22 Championship (in 2013) and AFC U-23 Championship (between 2016 and 2020), is a biennial international football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. Each even-yeared edition of the tournament is linked to the qualification process for the Olympic Games, such as in 2016 and 2020, from which the top three teams qualified.
The first edition was initially set to be held in 2013 and its qualification matches in 2012, but the finals tournament was postponed to be played in January 2014 due to the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup. In 2016 the tournament was also renamed from the "AFC U-22 Championship" to the "AFC U-23 Championship". The tournament was rebranded as the "AFC U-23 Asian Cup" in 2021.
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.
Contents
Format
The overview of the competition format in the 2016 tournament was as follows:
- 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.
Results
- Tournament Names
- 2013: AFC U-22 Championship
- 2016–2020: AFC U-23 Championship
- 2022–Ongoing: AFC U-23 Asian Cup
| Edition | Year | Host | Final | Third place match | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||||
| 1 | 2013 |  Oman |
 Iraq |
1–0 Al-Seeb Stadium, Seeb |
 Saudi Arabia |
 Jordan |
0–0 (aet) (3–2 p) Al-Seeb Stadium, Seeb |
 South Korea |
||
| 2 | 2016 |  Qatar |
 Japan |
3–2 Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha |
South Korea |
Iraq |
2–1 (aet) Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha |
 Qatar |
||
| 3 | 2018 |  China |
 Uzbekistan |
2–1 (aet) Changzhou Sports Centre, Changzhou |
 Vietnam |
Qatar |
1–0 Kunshan Stadium, Kunshan |
South Korea |
||
| 4 | 2020 |  Thailand |
South Korea |
1–0 (aet) Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok |
Saudi Arabia |
 Australia |
1–0 Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok |
Uzbekistan |
||
| 5 | 2022 |  Uzbekistan |
Saudi Arabia |
2–0 Milliy Stadium, Tashkent |
Uzbekistan |
Japan |
3–0 Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent |
Australia |
||
| 6 | 2024 | Qatar |
TBD | Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha | TBD | TBD | Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha | TBD | ||
| 7 | 2026 |  Saudi Arabia |
TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | ||||
Teams reaching the top four
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia |
1 (2022) | 2 (2013, 2020) | – | – | 3 |
| South Korea |
1 (2020) | 1 (2016) | – | 2 (2013, 2018) | 4 |
| Uzbekistan |
1 (2018) | 1 (2022) | – | 1 (2020) | 3 |
| Iraq |
1 (2013) | – | 1 (2016) | – | 2 |
| Japan |
1 (2016) | – | 1 (2022) | – | 2 |
 Vietnam |
– | 1 (2018) | – | – | 1 |
 Qatar |
– | – | 1 (2018) | 1 (2016) | 2 |
 Australia |
– | – | 1 (2020) | 1 (2022) | 2 |
 Jordan |
– | – | 1 (2013) | – | 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.
| Rank | Team | Part | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea |
5 | 28 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 46 | 26 | +20 | 59 |
| 2 | Iraq |
5 | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 40 | 22 | +18 | 48 |
| 3 | Japan |
5 | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 42 | 22 | +20 | 46 |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia |
5 | 24 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 34 | 18 | +16 | 45 |
| 5 | Uzbekistan |
5 | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 42 | 24 | +18 | 40 |
| 6 | Australia |
5 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 34 |
| 7 | Qatar |
4 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 33 |
| 8 | Jordan |
5 | 20 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 27 |
| 9 |  United Arab Emirates |
4 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 17 | −3 | 20 |
| 10 |  Iran |
4 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 19 | –1 | 16 |
| 11 |  Syria |
4 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 18 | −4 | 16 |
| 12 |  North Korea |
4 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 13 |
| 13 | Vietnam |
4 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 24 | −7 | 13 |
| 14 |  Thailand |
4 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 21 | −5 | 10 |
| 15 |  [[Palestinian National Authority {{{altlink}}}|Palestinian National Authority]] |
1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 4 |
| 16 |  Turkmenistan |
1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 |
| 17 |  Malaysia |
2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 16 | −11 | 4 |
| 18 |  Oman |
2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 |
| 19 |  China |
4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 21 | −11 | 3 |
| 20 |  Bahrain |
1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 |
| 21 |  Kuwait |
2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 1 |
| 22 |  Tajikistan |
1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 |
| 23 |  Myanmar |
1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 0 |
| 24 |  Yemen |
2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 15 | −13 | 0 |
Champions by regions
| Regional federation | Champion(s) | Title(s) |
|---|---|---|
| EAFF (East Asia) | Japan (1) South Korea (1) |
2 |
| 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
| Teams | 2013 |
2016 |
2018 |
2020 |
2022 |
2024 |
2026 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
QF | GS | GS | 3rd | 4th | Q | 6 | |
 Bahrain |
• | • | • | GS | • | • | 1 | |
 China |
GS | GS | GS | GS | × | Q | 5 | |
 Indonesia |
• | • | • | • | • | Q | 1 | |
 Iran |
GS | QF | • | GS | GS | • | 4 | |
 Iraq |
1st | 3rd | QF | GS | QF | Q | 6 | |
 Japan |
QF | 1st | QF | GS | 3rd | Q | 6 | |
 Jordan |
3rd | QF | GS | QF | GS | Q | 6 | |
 Kuwait |
GS | • | × | • | GS | Q | 3 | |
 Malaysia |
• | • | QF | • | GS | Q | 3 | |
 Myanmar |
GS | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | |
 North Korea |
GS | QF | GS | GS | × | × | 4 | |
 Oman |
GS | • | GS | • | • | • | 2 | |
 [[Palestinian National Authority {{{altlink}}}|Palestinian National Authority]] |
• | • | QF | • | • | • | 1 | |
 Qatar |
• | 4th | 3rd | GS | GS | Q | 5 | |
 Saudi Arabia |
2nd | GS | GS | 2nd | 1st | Q | Q | 7 |
 South Korea |
4th | 2nd | 4th | 1st | QF | Q | 6 | |
 Syria |
QF | GS | GS | QF | • | • | 4 | |
 Tajikistan |
• | • | • | • | GS | Q | 2 | |
 Thailand |
• | GS | GS | QF | GS | Q | 5 | |
 Turkmenistan |
• | • | • | • | QF | • | 1 | |
 United Arab Emirates |
QF | QF | • | QF | GS | Q | 5 | |
 Uzbekistan |
GS | GS | 1st | 4th | 2nd | Q | 6 | |
 Vietnam |
• | GS | 2nd | GS | QF | Q | 5 | |
 Yemen |
GS | GS | × | • | • | • | 2 | |
| Total | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
- Legend
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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 Alaa |
6 | Japan |
|
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Odiljon Hamrobekov |
Almoez Ali |
Vietnam |
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|
|
Won Du-jae |
Jaroensak Wonggorn |
3 | Song Bum-keun |
Saudi Arabia |
|
|
Ayman Yahya |
Cho Young-wook |
Nawaf Al-Aqidi |
Winning coaches
| Year | Team | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Iraq |
Hakeem Shaker |
| 2016 | Japan |
Makoto Teguramori |
| 2018 | Uzbekistan |
Ravshan Khaydarov |
| 2020 | South Korea |
Kim Hak-bum |
| 2022 | Saudi Arabia |
Saad Al-Shehri |
See also
In Spanish: Copa Asiática Sub-23 de la AFC para niños
- Football at the Summer Olympics
- AFC U-20 Asian Cup
- AFC U-17 Asian Cup
- AFC Asian Cup
