Japan the first two-time champions
The five previous editions were won by five different teams and anticipation was high that this trend would end in Qatar 2024.

It did but not before Japan overcame tough challenges - starting from the group stage.

They opened their Group B campaign with a 1-0 defeat of China PR, which was then followed by a 2-0 victory against United Arab Emirates.

With both teams having confirmed their quarter-final spots with a match to spare, the tie against Korea Republic was to decide the group winners with Japan falling to a 1-0 defeat.

That meant a meeting with hosts Qatar in the quarter-finals and it was a spectacular affair which required extra-time, with Japan walking away with a 4-2 win thanks to goals from Mao Hosoya (101st) and Kotaro Uchino (112th).

Up next were Iraq, who were also seeking to win the title for a second time, but Japan proved too strong as Hosoya (28th) and Ryotaro Araki (42nd) struck to take them through.

Uzbekistan awaited in the final, with the Central Asian side looking to add the 2024 crown to the one won in 2018 and the final was a tight affair which burst into life in second half stoppage time.

Fuki Yamada, introduced from the bench with 18 minutes remaining, struck into the bottom corner of Abduvakhid Nematov’s goal to seemingly clinch the title but there was drama right till the end with Uzbekistan being awarded a penalty nine minutes later due to Hiroki Sekine's handball.

Umarali Rakhmonaliev was given the responsibility to pull Uzbekistan back in the game but goalkeeper Leo Kokubo was equal to the task, throwing himself to his right to keep out the spot-kick and earn Japan the title.

The Stars
Japan captain Joel Chima Fujita was the tournament MVP, having played a pivotal role in his side's campaign.

Ali Jasim won the top scorer award the Iraqi star has continued to impress and is a key member of the national side seeking to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Khusain Norchaev has also graduated to the Uzbekistan national team as the AFC U23 Asian Cup unveiled a new generation of talent.

Standout Match
While the final deserves its place in history, the match that really stunned the continent was Indonesia's defeat of Korea Republic in the quarter-finals, with the Southeast Asian side winning 11-10 on penalties.

One of the competition’s favourites and perennial powerhouses, Korea Republic were pressed back right from the start at the Abdullah Bin Khalifah Stadium with Rafael Struick putting Indonesia ahead in the 15th minute.

Eom Ji-sung’s header in the first minute of first half added time deflected off the unfortunate Komang Teguh and sneaked past Ernando Ari in the Indonesian goal for the equaliser but Struick struck again before the break to restore the Southeast Asian side's advantage.

It got worse for Korea Republic following the dismissal of half-time substitute Lee Young-jun with 20 minutes of regulation time left, following a VAR review.

But just when it seemed like they were down and out, the 2020 champions pulled off the perfect breakaway goal in the 84th minute. Having committed too many bodies forward for a corner, Indonesia were caught out when Baek Jong-beom collected the ball and immediately launched it to Hong Yun-sang, who was already racing away as part of a two-on-two situation.

The midfielder then slipped the perfect pass to fellow substitute Jeong Sang-bin, who calmly slotted the ball past Ernando to draw his side level for the second time.

With neither side unable to find a third in extra time, the tie was decided via spot-kicks and after each player on the pitch had taken a penalty each, Indonesia goalkeeper Ernando Ari pulled off his second save in the shootout to deny Lee Kang Hee and set the stage for Pratama Arhan to fire Indonesia to triumph.

It meant the end of Korea Republic's remarkable run of having qualified for every Olympics since 1988 and while Indonesia' campaign ended in the semi-finals, they certainly lit up the tournament with their never-say-die attitude.