JEDDAH: All eyes will turn to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a week’s time when the AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 gets underway in the cities of Jeddah and Riyadh.
The Continent’s best talents are poised to prove that they can make the next step in their careers at the seventh edition of the tournament, which runs from January 6 to 24.
Breakout stars from the previous iteration in 2024 include Most Valuable Player Joel Fujita and top scorer Ali Jasim, while those who have done likewise in preceding editions comprise the likes of Yuito Suzuki and Almoez Ali.
The 16-strong cast was finalised after 15 teams progressed via the Qualifiers in September to join first-time hosts Saudi Arabia, who automatically qualified. All five former champions—Iraq, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan—will feature and along with Australia and Jordan, are the only seven teams to be involved at every Finals.
The Kyrgyz Republic and Lebanon will make their debuts, taking the total number of teams in Finals history to 27.
