Set the time for the draw for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Finals

According to the announcement of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the draw ceremony for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Finals will be held on October 2 at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Previously, the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers, which concluded on September 10, determined the 16 teams participating in the final round taking place from January 7 to 25 in Saudi Arabia. Of which, U23 Vietnam left a strong impression when winning all 3 matches, scoring 4 goals and not conceding any, excellently topping Group C.

Coach Kim Sang-sik's team is one of six teams to achieve a perfect 9 points, along with U23 Jordan, U23 Japan, U23 Qatar, U23 Iran and U23 Syria.

The list of 16 teams participating in the final round includes 11 group winners: Jordan, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Iraq, Qatar, Iran, South Korea and Syria; along with 4 best second-placed teams: China, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, UAE, and host Saudi Arabia.

According to the seed grouping results: U23 Vietnam is in group 2 with Korea, Australia, Qatar. Group 1 includes Saudi Arabia (host), Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq. Group 3 includes Thailand, Jordan, UAE, Iran. Group 4 includes China, Syria, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon.

This year’s tournament will welcome two debutants, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon. In Southeast Asia, only U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand have qualified for the Final Round.

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship will be the 6th consecutive time that Vietnam U23 has participated in this tournament (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2026). The most impressive achievement of the red team is still the historic runner-up position in 2018, in addition to reaching the quarter-finals twice (2022, 2024).