After the group stage, 8 teams qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship have been determined including: U23 Vietnam, Jordan, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Japan, UAE, Australia and China.
U23 Vietnam vs U23 UAE
U23 Vietnam is one of the two teams that won all matches in the group stage. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team showed excellent form, played solidly and flexibly. The strength of the team is strong physical strength, deep squad and very effective in set pieces.
This is the 4th time, U23 Vietnam has reached the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Championship, the team's best achievement is runner-up in 2018. The team is rated slightly higher than U23 UAE, the team ranked 2nd in Group B. In history, U23 UAE has reached the quarter-finals of this tournament 3 times in 2013, 2016 and 2020 but has never gone further.
This is also the 3rd time the two teams U23 Vietnam and U23 UAE have met at the AFC U23 Championship. In 2016, U23 UAE defeated U23 Vietnam 3-2 in the group stage. Four years later, the two teams also met in the group stage and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
U23 Uzbekistan vs U23 China
With 4 semi-finals in the last 4 AFC U23 Championships, winning the 2018 championship, U23 Uzbekistan is one of the strongest teams in the continent. Their form in the group stage is very convincing when defeating U23 Korea, U23 Lebanon and drawing with U23 Iran.
Leading U23 Uzbekistan is coach Ravshan Khaydarov, who helped the team win the 2018 AFC U23 Championship. The ambition of the Central Asian team is to aim for the 2nd championship in history.
Meanwhile, U23 China did not play too impressively in the group stage, when they drew with U23 Thailand, U23 Iraq and narrowly defeated U23 Australia. This is the first time U23 China has reached the quarter-finals of a continental tournament. Compared in all aspects, U23 China is not as good as their opponent. Therefore, the ticket to the next round is likely to belong to U23 Uzbekistan.
Historically, U23 Uzbekistan has had several encounters with U23 China at the Asian tournament in 2013, 2018 and 2020 and both won.
U23 Japan vs U23 Jordan
U23 Japan is the most successful team in this arena. They are aiming to successfully defend the championship and win the championship for the 3rd time in this tournament.
With U23 Jordan, this is only the first time they have reached the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Championship since 2020. The West Asian team is having a high morale after two consecutive victories against U23 Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan. However, they are still underestimated by U23 Japan. It will be very difficult for the West Asian team to create a surprise in the quarter-finals.
U23 Australia vs U23 Korea
Australia is a big team in Asia, but at the U23 level, they have not won the championship. The best achievement of U23 Australia at the AFC U23 Championship is the 3rd place in 2020, where they lost to U23 Korea 0-2 in the semi-finals.
Compared to the kangaroo team, U23 South Korea has more impressive achievements. They are the only Asian team that has always passed the group stage of the AFC U23 Championship in their participations, winning the championship in 2020, and runner-up in 2016.
This year, the kimchi team did not play too well. However, their uniformity and certainty are still a big challenge for U23 Australia.
