The 2025 U20 Asian Cup is also a qualifying round for the world tournament. According to regulations, the 4 teams in the semi-finals will win tickets to the FIFA U20 World Cup 2025 in Chile. Having achieved a big goal, all 4 teams participating in the semi-finals promise to provide attractive and dramatic performances.
In the first semi-final match, U20 Saudi Arabia will meet U20 Korea. The West Asian team defeated the host team China U20 1-0 in the quarter-finals. This was a somewhat lucky result for U20 Saudi Arabia when the opponent missed a penalty and missed many good opportunities.
Meanwhile, U20 Korea defeated defending champion U20 Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals. The Dong A team led 3-1 but then equalized 3-3. This score was kept unchanged until the end of extra time. Entering the penalty shootout, U20 Korea beat their opponents with a score of 3-1.
With impressive form since the beginning of the tournament, possessing striker Kim Tae-won leading the scoring list (4 goals), U20 Korea is rated higher than U20 Saudi Arabia. They have many opportunities to defeat the West Asian team, thereby winning a place in the final. In this year's tournament, U20 Saudi Arabia did not play convincingly, not having many outstanding players like previous tournaments.
In the remaining semi-final, U20 Australia hopes to make history against U20 Japan. This is the first time the Young Socceroos (Australia U20 nickname) have reached the semi-finals of the U20 Asian Cup since 2012. That achievement prevented them from participating in 4 consecutive FIFA U20 World Cups.
Therefore, U20 Australia's 3-2 victory over U20 Iraq in the quarter-finals of the 2025 AFC U20 Championship is a great encouragement. In this year's tournament, coach Trevor Morgan's team has a formidable attacking ability, scoring 13 goals/4 matches.
U20 Australia has many players who can make a breakthrough such as Luka Jovanovic, Alexander Badolato, Daniel Beninie or Musa Toure. These 4 players have scored 9/13 goals for the team since the beginning of the tournament.
The challenge for U20 Australia in the semi-finals is U20 Japan - a team that has won the championship once and won the runner-up position in the U20 Asian Cup 6 times. U20 Japan is highly appreciated for its ability to organize, flexible tactics, and possesses many players with high techniques. Their playing style is completely different from U20 Australia, which promises that the semi-final match between the two teams will be very exciting.
Schedule of the semi-final matches of the 2025 AFC U20 Championship
15, February 26, Saudi Arabia - South Korea
6:30 p.m., February 26, Australia - Japan
