In the first semi-final match held in the early morning of May 20 (Vietnam time) in Saudi Arabia, U17 Japan faced many difficulties against U17 Uzbekistan. The Central Asian representative was the team to open the score in the 26th minute after Akhrorbek Ravshanbekov brought a penalty for Uzbekistan.
From the 11m spot, Asilbek Aliev successfully converted, putting U17 Uzbekistan ahead 1-0. After conceding a goal, U17 Japan increased the pressure but encountered many difficulties against the opponent's tight defense.
It was not until the 7th minute of injury time of the 2nd half that the young team from the land of the rising sun found an equalizer. Center-back Chimezie Kai Ezemuokwe joined the attack and finished from close range, bringing the match to a 1-1 balance.
The two teams then had to decide the winner through a penalty shootout. From the penalty spot, U17 Japan was more brave to win 3-2, thereby winning a ticket to the final.
In the remaining semi-final, U17 China continued to impress when defeating U17 Australia with a score of 2-0. Shuai Weihao opened the score for the East Asian representative in the 48th minute before Xie Jin sealed the victory in the 90th minute.
This is considered a noteworthy journey for U17 China as this team was not highly rated before the tournament but the more they played, the more effective and solid it became.
According to the schedule, the final match of the 2026 Asian U17 Championship between Japan U17 and China U17 will take place at 0:00 on May 23 (Vietnam time) at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
