The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has a brief article about the coaches of U23 Japan and U23 China.
Go Oiwa
Mr. Oiwa, who will turn 54 in June 2026, has led U23 Japan to win the 2024 AFC U23 Championship. He will become the first coach to win this tournament twice, if he and his team defeat U23 China in the upcoming match.
He began his football career at Nagoya Grampus Eight in the mid-1990s of the last century. Oiwa was a well-known center-back with two Copa del Rey titles (1995, 1999) in six seasons wearing the club shirt before having a short time playing for Jubilo Iwata (2000-2002) and then Kashima Antlers.
It was in Kashima that Oiwa proved her class - winning four J1 League titles (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009) and two Emperor's Cups (2007, 2010).
After starting his coaching career, he accumulated a lot of experience before leading Kashima Antlers in 2017, replacing Masatada Ishii (former coach of the Thai national team). Oiwa led Kashima in 143 matches from 2017 to 2020, bringing the club from Aichi prefecture to win the 2018 AFC Champions League.
He has coached U23 Japan since 2021, helping the team win the 2024 AFC U23 Championship. He has been honored by the AFC as the best Asian coach of the year twice in 2018 and 2023.
Antonio Puche
The Spanish strategist made history for U23 China when he helped the team win the right to enter the final of the AFC U23 Championship for the first time, after 5 consecutive eliminations from the group stage. U23 China played excellently in this year's tournament when they did not concede any goals. In the semi-finals, they defeated U23 Vietnam 3-0.
As a football knowledgeable since he was a player, Antonio Puche is famous for his intelligence and ability to read matches, which is clearly shown when he had a breakthrough season in his second season with Palamos CF in La Liga 2, scoring 27 goals.
Even while still playing, Puche showed interest in the tactical aspects of football and that curiosity led him to coaching work right after retiring at the age of 32, after many years playing in lower leagues.
Puche served as football director at Cadiz CF. The following season marked his first head coach role when he led Xerez CD B in the Fourth Division, and shared the task of leading the first team with former club player Antonio Poyatos.
He entered a professional coaching career in the 2008-2009 season, as assistant coach for Juan Carlos Mandia at Hercules CF in the second division, starting a long-term partnership afterwards and further shaping his tactical vision.
Later, Puche's career took him out of Europe, when he signed for Qadsia SC club in the Kuwait Premier League in 2014.This step proved to be an important turning point when he played a key role in the club's historic victory at the AFC Cup that year.
After working at Anorthois, as assistant head coach at Saint-Etienne and Olympiacos, this Spanish coach entered youth football with the Chinese U20 team in 2023, bringing them to the quarter-finals of the AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2023, where they lost to South Korea with a score of 1-3 after extra time.
With the accumulated experience and understanding of Asian football, Antonio Puche promises to create a fair confrontation with his colleague Go Oiwa.
The U23 Japan vs U23 China final will take place at 10:00 PM on January 24.
