Holiday Ayo - All matches in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers officially concluded on Tuesday (September 9).

A total of 16 countries have officially secured their qualification for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, which will be held in Saudi Arabia from January 7-25, 2026.

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers will be held from September 3-9, with 44 teams divided into 11 groups.

Eleven countries secured their places as group winners, while four other countries qualified as the best runners-up.

The 11 countries that secured their group top spot are Jordan (Group A), Japan (Group B), Vietnam (Group C), Australia (Group D), Kyrgyzstan (Group E), Thailand (Group F), Iraq (Group G), Qatar (Group H), Iran (Group I), South Korea (Group J), and Syria (Group K).

Meanwhile, the best runner-up positions were won by China (Group D), Uzbekistan (Group E), Lebanon (Group F), and the United Arab Emirates (Group I).

For your information, two debutant teams will compete in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship: Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon.

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship will not be a memorable one for the Indonesian U23 national team, which failed to qualify for the finals after a disappointing qualifying round.

The Indonesian U23 national team failed to repeat its success two years ago in the 2024 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers, when it pulled off a surprise performance to advance to the semifinals.

As a result, Indonesia became the only semifinalist in the previous edition to fail to qualify for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.

It should be noted that in the previous edition of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, the semifinals featured four teams: Japan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Indonesia.

The Indonesian U23 national team advanced after a dramatic victory over South Korea in the quarterfinals via penalty shootout.

Unlike the Indonesian U23 national team, Japan, Uzbekistan, and Iraq all qualified for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals.

Meanwhile, Gerald Vanenburg's squad finished second in Group J after losing 1-0 to South Korea in the final match.

In their three matches, the Garuda Muda only managed four points, a draw against Laos (0-0), a win against Macau (5-0), and a loss to South Korea (1-0).

The Indonesian U23 national team follows in the footsteps of other ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Myanmar, Timor Leste, the Philippines, and Brunei Darussalam, which also failed to qualify for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.

Southeast Asia still sent representatives after Thailand and Vietnam secured their respective group wins.

Australia, also a member of the AFF, is returning to the biennial event.

List of 16 Countries Qualifying for the 2026 AFC

U23 Championship

Saudi Arabia (Host)

Jordan

Japan

Vietnam

Australia

South Korea

Kyrgyzstan

Thailand

Iraq

Qatar

Iran

Syria

China

Uzbekistan

Lebanon

United Arab Emirates

Arabia