Match between two former champions
After the first 2 matches in Group C of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, U23 Korea is temporarily leading the group with 4 points, after drawing U23 Iran 0-0 and winning U23 Lebanon 4-2. U23 Uzbekistan also has 4 points but ranks behind. The Central Asian team won U23 Lebanon 3-2 and drew U23 Iran 0-0.
With the current situation, U23 Korea and U23 Uzbekistan will go to the quarterfinals together if their match ends in a goalless draw. Conversely, if any team loses the match, that team is almost certainly eliminated. Because in the match at the same time, U23 Iran (2 points) has many chances to defeat U23 Lebanon - the team that was definitely eliminated.
U23 Korea vs U23 Uzbekistan is a match between the two former champions of this playground. Despite the great pressure, the head coach of the U23 Uzbekistan team, Ravshan Khaydarov, said he will stick with his strategy, emphasizing discipline and tactics from the players.
He said: "We will focus on every detail, focus on what is feasible and our match plan because we are facing a very strong team. Analyzing South Korea's matches shows that they are a very good team in tactics, and as they showed in the match against Lebanon, they are at their peak form. That is why thorough preparation is very important.
Meanwhile, coach Lee Min-sung believes that U23 South Korea will play better than the previous two matches. He shared: "This is a very important match for U23 South Korea, and I think we will play better than the previous matches. Our main goal is to get through the group stage rather than win.
Notable statistics
This will be the fourth meeting between U23 Uzbekistan and South Korea at the AFC U23 Championship, in which the East Asian team won both times in the group stage with a score of 2-1 (in 2016 and 2020); and the Central Asian team won in the semi-finals of the 2018 tournament with a score of 4-1 after extra time.
U23 Uzbekistan drew 0-0 with Iran in the most recent match at the AFC U23 Championship. The Central Asian team has never drawn 2 consecutive matches in the group stage of this playground.
U23 Korea has had four different players score goals at the tournament, the achievement is only second to U23 Japan (6 people).
The U23 Korea vs U23 Uzbekistan match will take place at 6:30 PM on January 13.
In the match at the same time, U23 Iran will meet U23 Lebanon. The fate of U23 Iran depends on the result of the remaining match. To advance, they need to defeat U23 Lebanon and look forward to the U23 Korea vs U23 Uzbekistan match with a win or loss result. U23 Iran is rated higher but they are currently in a 5-match winning streak at the AFC U23 Championship, the worst achievement is only behind U23 Malaysia (7 matches) and U23 Yemen (6) in this arena.
