AFC U17 Asian Cup
As the dust settles on another memorable edition, the-AFC.com looks at the facts and figures that defined the tournament.
Goals galore
A total of 91 goals were scored across the 28 matches played, averaging 3.25 per game. Japan led the way with 20 while runners-up China PR netted 15 times en route to the final.
Kitahara magic
Japan’s Maki Kitahara underlined his status as one of Asia’s brightest young talents after finishing as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Top Scorer with six goals. The midfielder saved his best for the biggest stage, scoring in the final against China PR. Uzbekistan’s Akhrorbek Ravshanbekov finished second with four goals, while China PR’s Zhao Songyuan and Japan’s Kakeru Saito netted three each.
Shoot on sight
Uzbekistan’s Suxrob Sadirjonov emerged as the tournament’s most aggressive attacker, registering 16 shots - 11 of which were on target.China PR’s Zhao Songyuan followed with 14 shots (nine on target), while Japan’s Tafuku Satomi and Shuai Weihao of China PR recorded 13 attempts each. Japan topped the teams’ shots rankings with 39, ahead of China PR and Uzbekistan (28 each).
Safe hands Oshita
Japan goalkeeper Kosei Oshita walked away with the Best Goalkeeper award after playing a decisive role in his side’s title-winning run. His standout moment came in the dying stages of the final when he denied Zhao Songyuan’s stoppage-time header to preserve Japan’s lead. The tournament also produced 16 clean sheets, with Australia, China PR, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan registering two each.
Creative sparks
Japan’s Rekuto Shiraogawa led the assist charts with five, while teammate Takeshi Wada and China PR’s Wan Xiang contributed three each. United Arab Emirates’ Hussain Yousuf Ali also produced three assists, with Saudi Arabia’s Ammar Maimani, Tajikistan’s Mustafo Hasanbekov and Australia’s Max Charles Court also doing their part for their respective teams.
Pass masters
Australia led the passing accuracy rankings with 84 percent, just ahead of Japan and Qatar’s 81 percent. Individually, China PR’s Li Junpeng completed the most passes in the tournament with 334, ahead of Korea Republic’s Choi Min-Jun (306) and Japan defender Anthony Motosuna (282). Japan also ranked first in total passes with 20,243 recorded across the competition.
#U17AC - Final: China PR 2-3 Japan
Goal-filled finale
Japan and China PR met in the final for the first time, with their thrilling 3-2 encounter producing the second-highest number of goals scored in an AFC U17 Asian Cup final.The five-goal showdown was only surpassed by the 2006 final, when Japan defeated DPR Korea 4-2 after extra time in Singapore.
Ticket to Qatar 2026
Eight teams booked their tickets for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026™, joining hosts Qatar. Japan, China PR, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Australia, Tajikistan, Vietnam and Korea Republic will be the continent’s challengers, with Vietnam to make their debut.
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