The 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup final () was a football match that took place on 24 January 2026 at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to determine the winners of the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup. The match was contested by China and the defending champions Japan, the winners of the semi-finals.

Japan won the final 4–0 to win their second consecutive title, and third overall in their participation history.

Route to the final

China China entered the tournament as the best runners-up during qualification. At the draw, they were placed in Group D along with Iraq, Australia and Thailand. With China's all previous appearances being eliminated in the group stage, the team was, however, surprisingly undefeated in the group stage of this edition, with one win against Australia by Peng Xiao's only goal, and two goalless draws against Iraq and Thailand, finishing the group as the runners-up.

China's quarter-final match was against Uzbekistan, past champions and two-time defending runners-up. Both teams did not manage to score any goals in 120 minutes, and the match went into penalty shoot-out. The first five kicks were converted with China leading 3–2 before Bekhruz Karimov and Yang Haoyu missed, with Li Hao then saving Dilshod Abdullaev’s attempt to set up Wang Bohao to score the winning penalty to take the East Asians to the semi-final for the first time in the history. China also became the first team scoring just one goal to reach the semi-finals. Facing 2018 runners-up Vietnam in the semi-final, in contrast to their previous matches, China showed a powerful attacking play against the Southeast Asian team. Keeping clean sheet and scoring three goals by Peng Xiao, Xiang Yuwang, and Wang Yudong, the East Asian side went on to reach the final for the first time in the tournament history. This appearance also marked the first time since the 2004 AFC U-17 Championship, had a Chinese representative reach a continental final.https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-09/19/content_375745.htm

Japan Japan participated in the tournament as the Group B winners in their qualification. Drawn in Group B with three West Asian teams, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Syria, the defending champions dominated their group with three wins, scoring ten goals and conceding none. Japan also became the first team advanced to the quarter-finals in the tournament after just two matches.

Japan's quarter-final match was against another West Asian team, Jordan. A tough game for the defending champions as they let the Jordanians taking the lead on the 30th minute with a goal by Ali Azaizeh, their first time conceding a goal in the tournament. However, the Jordanians scored an own goal in just five minutes after starting the second half, in which Anas Al-Khob accidentally slipping while Shusuke Furuya was shooting to the goal by target, thus equalising the match. Both teams could not score any goals in the remaining time and the extra time, and the match went into penalty shoot-out. Japan won 4–2 on penalties and advanced into semi-finals after denying two kicks by Mohammad Taha and Mohammad Al-Shatti. Facing their arch rival South Korea in the semi-final, Japan would need an only goal by Kaito Koizumi in the 36th minute and kept the score defensively until full time to secure a place in the final.

China Round Japan Opponents Result Group stage Opponents Result 0–0 Match 1 5–0 1–0 Match 2 3–0 0–0 Match 3 2–0 Group D runners-up Final standings Group B winners Opponents Result Knockout stage Opponents Result 0–0 Quarter-finals 1–1 3–0 Semi-finals 1–0

Match details

GK 16 Li HaoRB 4 Umidjan YusupCB 5 Liu Haofan (c)CB 6 Xu Bin LB 15 Peng XiaoRM 23 Alex YangCM 20 Li Zhenquan CM 8 Mutellip Iminqari LM 2 Hu HetaoCF 7 Xiang Yuwang CF 10 Wang Yudong Substitutions:MF 13 Wang Bohao MF 18 Chen Zeshi MF 21 Bao Shengxin FW 9 Behram Abduweli FW 11 Kuai Jiwen Manager: Antonio Puche GK 23 Rui ArakiRB 16 Kaito KoizumiCB 4 Shuto NaganoCB 5 Rion Ichihara (c)LB 2 Rei UmekiCM 8 Yuto Ozeki CM 6 Kosei Ogura RW 20 Shusuke FuruyaAM 10 Ryūnosuke Satō LW 11 Yumei Yokoyama CF 9 Uche Brian Seo Nwadike Substitutions:MF 17 Yudai Shimamoto DF 22 Tariqkani Hayato Okabe FW 13 Sena Ishibashi FW 19 Yutaka Michiwaki MF 7 Nelson Ishiwatari Manager:Gō Ōiwa

Man of the Match: Kosei Ogura (Japan)

Assistant referees: Faisal Al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia) Ibrahim Al-Dakhil (Saudi Arabia) Fourth official: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman) Fifth official: Nasser Ambusaidi (Oman) Video assistant referee: Abdullah Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia) Assistant video assistant referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Maximum of twelve named substitutes. Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time.

Notes

References

See also 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup China–Japan football rivalry

External links