# 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup

The 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup was the 42nd edition of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup (including previous editions of the AFC Youth Championship and AFC U-19 Championship), the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-20 national teams of Asia.
On 24 May 2024, the AFC announced that China would host the tournament.
A total of 16 teams played in the tournament. The top four teams qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as the AFC representatives.
Uzbekistan were the title holders, having won the title in 2023. They were eliminated on penalties by South Korea in the quarter-finals. Australia clinched their first major youth title since joining the AFC, overcoming three-time winners Saudi Arabia on penalties.

## Qualification

Qualification matches were played between 21 and 29 September 2024.

### Qualified teams

A total of 16 teams, including hosts China, qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Appearance | Previous best performance |
| China | Hosts | 20th | Champions (1985) |
| Syria | Group A winners | 12th | Champions (1994) |
| Uzbekistan | Group B winners | 9th | Champions (2023) |
| South Korea | Group C winners | 40th | Champions (1959, 1960, 1963, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2012) |
| Saudi Arabia | Group D winners | 15th | Champions (1986, 1992, 2018) |
| North Korea | Group E winners | 14th | Champions (1976, 2006, 2010) |
| Indonesia | Group F winners | 20th | Champions (1961) |
| Iran | Group G winners | 22nd | Champions (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976) |
| Iraq | Group H winners | 19th | Champions (1975, 1977, 1978, 1988, 2000) |
| Japan | Group I winners | 39th | Champions (2016) |
| Qatar | Group J winners | 16th | Champions (2014) |
| Yemen | 1st best runners-up | 7th | Quarter-finals (1975) |
| Kyrgyzstan | 2nd best runners-up | 3rd | Group stage (2006, 2023) |
| Australia | 3rd best runners-up | 9th | Runners-up (2010) |
| Thailand | 4th best runners-up | 34th | Champions (1962, 1969) |
| Jordan | 5th best runners-up | 9th | Fourth place (2006) |

## Venues

The competition was held in four venues around Shenzhen.
Shenzhen :
| Bao'an | Guangming | Guangming | Longhua |
| Bao'an Stadium | Shenzhen Youth Football Training Base Centre Stadium | Shenzhen Youth Football Training Base Pitch No.1 | Longhua Cultural and Sports Center |
| Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 10,000 | Capacity: 500 | Capacity: 2,364 |
| Shenzhen ||||

## Match officials

The tournament implemented video assistant referees (VAR), a first in the tournament's history, starting from the semi-finals onwards.

### Referees

* Alex King
* Ammar Mahfoodh
* Shen Yinhao
* Thoriq Alkatiri
* Zaid Thamer Mohammed
* Hiroki Kasahara
* Abdullah Jamali
* Qasim Al-Hatmi
* Abdulhadi Al-Rowaily
* Choi Hyun-jai
* Ahmed Eisa Darwish
* Asker Nadjafaliev

### Assistant referees

* James Lindsay
* Mohamed Salman
* Guo Jingtao
* Luo Zheng
* So Kai Man
* Bangbang Syamsudar
* Hayder Ubaydee
* Takagi Takumi
* Ali Jraq
* Nasser Al-Busaidi
* Khaled Khalaf
* Cheon Jin-hee
* Ismoil Nuraliev
* Kijsathit Pattarapong
* Yasser Al-Murshidi
* Ruslan Serazitdinov

## Draw

The draw of the final tournament was held on 7 November 2024 in Shenzhen, China. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams, with the teams seeded according to their performance in the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup final tournament and qualification, with the hosts China automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| China (hosts) Uzbekistan Iraq Japan | South Korea Australia Iran Jordan | Indonesia Saudi Arabia Syria Kyrgyzstan | Qatar Thailand Yemen North Korea |

## Squads

Players born on or after 1 January 2005 and on or before 31 December 2009 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team must register a squad of minimum 18 players and maximum 23 players, minimum three of whom must be goalkeepers.

## Group stage
### 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:
* Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
* 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);
* Drawing of lots.
All match times are in local time, (UTC+8)

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | China (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Qatar | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Iraq | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Jordan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | North Korea | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 1 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Iran | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 9 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Indonesia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 | |
| 4 | Yemen | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 1 | |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Korea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Japan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Syria | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 1 | |

## Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 22 February | 22 February | | | |
| Australia | 3 | | | |
| Australia | 3 | 26 February | 26 February | | |
| Iraq | 2 | 26 February | 26 February | |
| Iraq | 2 | Australia | 2 | |
| 23 February | 23 February | | Australia | 2 | |
| 23 February | 23 February | Japan | 0 | |
| Iran | 1 (3) | Japan | 0 | |
| Iran | 1 (3) | | | | 1 March | 1 March |
| Japan (p) | 1 (4) | | | | 1 March | 1 March |
| Japan (p) | 1 (4) | | | | Australia (p) | 1 (5) |
| 22 February | 22 February | | | | | Australia (p) | 1 (5) |
| 22 February | 22 February | | | | Saudi Arabia | 1 (4) |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | | | | Saudi Arabia | 1 (4) |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 26 February | 26 February | | | |
| China | 0 | 26 February | 26 February | | | |
| China | 0 | Saudi Arabia (p) | 0 (3) | | | |
| 23 February | 23 February | | Saudi Arabia (p) | 0 (3) | | | |
| 23 February | 23 February | South Korea | 0 (2) | |
| South Korea (p) | 3 (3) | South Korea | 0 (2) | |
| Uzbekistan | 3 (1) | | | |

### Quarter-finals

All four winners qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

### Final
## Goalscorers

There were 93 goals scored in 31 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match.
4 goals
* Kim Tae-won
* Mukhammadali Urinboev
3 goals
* Luka Jovanovic
* Musa Toure
* Esmaeil Gholizadeh
2 goals
* Alexander Badolato
* Daniel Bennie
* Louis Agosti
* Kuai Jiwen
* Liu Chengyu
* Zhu Pengyu
* Reza Ghandipour
* Abolfazl Zamani
* Amoori Faisal
* Ibrahim Sabra
* Mohammed Khaled Gouda
* Saad Haqawi
* Shin Min-ha
* Mohammad Al-Mustafa
* Thanawut Phochai
* Abdugafur Khaydarov
1 goal
* Dean Bosnjak
* Panagiotis Kikianis
* Medin Memeti
* Jaylan Pearman
* Mao Weijie
* Wang Yudong
* Jens Raven
* Mobin Dehghan
* Yousef Mazraeh
* Hesam Nafari
* Abolfazl Zoleikhaei
* Aymen Luay
* Mustafa Qabeel
* Rion Ichihara
* Hisatsugu Ishii
* Soma Kanda
* Kosei Ogura
* Yuto Ozeki
* Ryunosuke Sato
* Rento Takaoka
* Beknaz Almazbekov
* Yryskeldi Madanov
* Umar Madavinov
* Han Jae-yong
* Kim Jin-song
* Ri Jong-dok
* Mohamed Hani Faragalla
* Tahsin Jamshid
* Moath Taha
* Noureldan Tamer
* Talal Haji
* Thamer Al-Khaibri
* Ammar Al-Yuhaybi
* Baek Min-gyu
* Park Seung-soo
* Shin Sung
* Yoon Do-young
* Aland Abdi
* Ahmad Al-Kalou
* Ahmad Soufi
* Yotsakorn Burapha
* Asilbek Jumaev
* Saidumarkhon Saidnurullaev
1 own goal
* Mohammed Moqbel (against Iran)

## Tournament ranking

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.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
| 1 | Australia | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 16 | Champions |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 11 | Runners-up |
| 3 | South Korea | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 9 | Eliminated in semi-finals |
| 4 | Japan | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 | Eliminated in semi-finals |
| 5 | Uzbekistan | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 7 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 6 | Iran | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 10 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 7 | Iraq | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 8 | China | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 6 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 9 | Jordan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 10 | Qatar | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 3 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 11 | Syria | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 12 | Indonesia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 13 | North Korea | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 1 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 14 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 1 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 15 | Yemen | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 1 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 16 | Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 0 | Eliminated in group stage |
* ↑ For 3rd and 4th place, teams were ranked in descending order as follows: goal difference in the semi-finals, goals scored in the semi-finals, and the same procedure used as teams eliminated in the quarter-finals.
* ↑ For 5th to 8th place, teams were ranked in descending order as follows: goal difference in the quarter-finals, goals scored in the quarter-finals, and the same procedure used as teams eliminated in the group stage.
* ↑ For 9th to 16th place, teams were ranked in descending order as follows: position in the group stage, points in all group matches, goal difference in all group matches, goals scored in all group matches, disciplinary points in all group matches, and drawing of lots.

## Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 World Cup

The following teams from AFC qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
| Team | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA U-20 World Cup |
| Saudi Arabia | 22 February 2025 | 9 (1985, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2017, 2019) |
| Australia | 22 February 2025 | 15 (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013) |
| Japan | 23 February 2025 | 11 (1979, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2017, 2019, 2023) |
| South Korea | 23 February 2025 | 16 (1979, 1981, 1983, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2023) |
    $^1$ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.