Where and when will the 2026 AFC U23 Championship be held?

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship will take place in Saudi Arabia from January 7-25, 2026, bringing together 16 of the continent's top youth teams, including Vietnam U23.

This is the 7th time this prestigious youth tournament is held every 2 years, bringing together 16 of the continent's top U23 teams.

According to AFC regulations, the country that hosts the next Asian Cup will also take on the responsibility of organizing the U23 tournament, so Saudi Arabia will continue to play host after 2024.

Thanh Nhan scored the only goal to help U23 Vietnam defeat U23 Yemen to win a ticket to the U23 Asian Cup finals with 3 wins in a row - Photo: SN

U23 Vietnam officially entered the tournament after a perfect qualifying journey. Coach Kim Sang Sik and his team opened with a 2-0 victory over Bangladesh, then defeated Singapore and Yemen with the same score of 1-0, winning the top spot in the group with 9 absolute points, scoring 4 goals and keeping a clean sheet.

This is also the sixth consecutive time Vietnam has qualified for the U23 Asian Championship. The most notable achievement was the historic second-place finish in Changzhou (China) in 2018. This affirmed the mettle and strength of the young Vietnamese players.

The list of 16 teams participating in the final round includes: U23 Vietnam, Jordan, Japan, Australia, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Iraq, Qatar, Iran, South Korea, Syria, China, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, UAE and host Saudi Arabia.

The teams will be divided into four groups, playing a round robin. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, then enter a series of intense knockout matches including quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place match and final.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/vck-u23-chau-a-2026-duoc-to-chuc-o-dau-dien-ra-khi-nao-2441464.html