 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Uzbekistan |
| Dates | 1–18 March |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Uzbekistan (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Iraq |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 31 |
| Goals scored | 69 (2.23 per match) |
| Attendance | 203,176 (6,554 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Naoki Kumata(5 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Abbosbek Fayzullaev |
| Best goalkeeper | Otabek Boymurodov |
The 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup was the 41st edition of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup (including previous editions of the AFC Youth Championship and AFC U-19 Championship), the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-20 national teams of Asia. This edition is the first to be played as an under-20 tournament, as the AFC proposed to switch the tournament from under-19 to under-20 starting from 2023.[1] Moreover, the tournament was also rebranded from the "AFC U-19 Championship" to the "AFC U-20 Asian Cup".[2] On 25 January 2021, the AFC announced that Uzbekistan would retain hosting rights for the 2023 edition after the cancellation of the 2020 AFC U-19 Championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
A total of 16 teams are playing in the tournament. The top four teams of the tournament, Japan, Iraq, South Korea and Uzbekistan, qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup as the AFC representatives besides Indonesia who automatically qualified as hosts. However, Indonesia was removed from hosting the tournament on 29 March 2023 and thus could not participate.[4] Subsequently, FIFA awarded Argentina the rights to organize the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in place of the original hosts Indonesia.[5][6]
Saudi Arabia were the title holders, having won the title in 2018, but were eliminated from the group stage and thus failed to defend the title. Uzbekistan won the first-ever title after a 1–0 win over Iraq in the final.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends changes to youth competitions". AFC. 26 November 2018.
- ^ "AFC rebrands age group championships to AFC Asian Cups". AFC. 2 October 2020.
- ^ "Latest update on AFC Competitions in 2021". AFC. 25 January 2021.
- ^ "FIFA removes Indonesia as host of FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023". FIFA. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ "FIFA confirms Argentina as host nation for FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023". FIFA. 17 April 2023.
- ^ "FIFA confirms Argentina as host of U20 World Cup". Buenos Aires Times. 17 April 2023.