Who are the players in contention? 

The contestants will get the chance to pick from a pool of the best players from across the 16 nations who took part in the latest edition of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™.  We have highlighted a couple of players from each of the four positions and now it’s the turn of you, the fans, to choose from.   

Goalkeepers:  

Steven Hall (Australia) 

Hamed Al Shanqiti (Saudi Arabia) 

Hong Seong-min (Korea Republic) 

 

Australia’s Steven Hall headlines the options in goal after his decisive penalty save in the shootout against Saudi Arabia in the final, while Hamed Al Shanqiti also starred for the Saudis with his own penalty shootout heroics in the semi-final against Korea Republic in addition to his spot-kick save against China PR in the quarter-finals. 

 

Korea’s Hong Seong-min pulled off a penalty save in regulation time and made two more stops in the shootout to help his side oust Uzbekistan and reach the last four. He also kept a clean sheet in the semi-finals but his side eventually lost to the Saudis on penalties. 

Defenders:  

Panagiotis Kikianis (Australia) 

Nima Andarz (IR Iran) 

Shin Min-ha (Korea Republic) 

Rion Ichihara (Japan) 

Mohammed Barnawi (Saudi Arabia)  

Panagiotis Kikianis was not just solid in defence for Australia but also scored with an exquisite finish in their quarter-final victory over Iraq as he proved key to their title success. Nima Andarz excelled on the right in Iraq’s run to the knockout rounds while Korea Republic centre-back Shin Min-ha scored twice to eliminate the Uzbeks in the last eight. 

 

Japan’s Rion Ichihara and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Barnawi, as captains of their respective nations, were also shining lights during the tournament, with the latter ultimately leading his side all the way to a runners-up finish. 

Midfielders:  

Esmaeil Gholizadeh (IR Iran) 

Kuai Jiwen (China PR) 

Amar Al Yuhaybi (Saudi Arabia) 

Alexander Badolato (Australia) 

Amir Faisal (Iraq) 

Esmaeil Gholizadeh scored one of the tournament’s best goals with an overhead kick against Indonesia as he netted in all three group fixtures. Kuai Jiwen of China scored against Qatar and Australia while Saudi Arabia’s Amar Al Yuhaybi bagged a stoppage-time winner against the Chinese in the quarter-final.  

 

Iraq captain Amir Faisal’s goals against Saudi Arabia and Australia were truly outstanding, and Alexander Badolato also impressed with two goals for Australia as well as an assist in the semi-final win over Japan as he was named MVP after his side’s victory over the Saudis in the final.   

Forwards:  

Mukhammadali Urinboev (Uzbekistan) 

Kim Tae-won (Korea Republic) 

Luka Jovanovic (Australia) 

Liu Chengyu (China PR) 

Saad Haqawi (Saudi Arabia) 

We have also seen plenty of forwards make their mark with Uzbekistan’s Mukhammadali Urinboev and Korea Republic’s Kim Tae-won scoring a tournament-leading four goals, while Australia’s Luka Jovanovic also shone by netting three goals en route to the final. 

 

The host country’s attack was inspired by Liu Chengyu who netted in wins against Qatar and Kyrgyz Republic to see them past the group stage and Saad Haqawi’s two goals helped the Saudis through the group stage as he ultimately picked up runners-up medal. 

How to take part?   

The AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025™ Fan-Voted Top Players contest is open to all football fans. However, participants under the age of 18 must have permission from a parent or guardian to take part.  

To enter the competition, the fans will pick up one favourite player each in four key positions – goalkeeper (GK), defender (DF), midfielder (MF), and forward (FW) – from a pool of players who stood out during the tournament held in China PR.  

Participants must then register for the contest through the-AFC.com or the AFC Live App by entering details including their name, email address, place of residence and date of birth, and submit their votes any time between March 3 and 10 during which the Fan-Voted Top Players competition will run.  

The participant whose selections most closely align with the most popular player choices across all positions will be declared the winner and take home a gift card worth US$300.  

In case of a tie, the winner will be determined based on the earliest registration timestamp, so let us know your favourite players from the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 and get your votes in as early as possible for a chance to win!