Japan U17 to make history at the 2026 Asian Championship

GD&TĐ - Japan U17 continued to consolidate its position as the number one team in the continent by brilliantly defeating China U17 3-2 to win the U17 Asian Championship for the 5th time.

Japan's U17 team continued to demonstrate the strength of their top-tier youth football in Asia by defeating China's U17 team in the final of the 2026 AFC U17 Championship.

The final match unfolded in an emotionally charged manner. Japan U17 led 3-0 in the first half thanks to goals from Tafuku Satomi, Kakeru Saito, and Maki Kitahara. The match seemed decided early, but China U17 staged a strong comeback in the second half, narrowing the score to 2-3.

Coach Shingi Ono's team faced immense pressure in the final 10 minutes, but still managed to hold onto their slender lead to conclude their journey with the championship title.

The 3-2 victory in Saudi Arabia secured the Japanese youth team their fifth title in this tournament. This achievement further solidified their position as the most successful team in the history of the U17 Asian Championship.

Notably, the Japanese U17 team asserted their dominance over the Chinese U17 team right from the group stage. At that time, both teams were in Group B, and Japan won 2-1. The Chinese U17 team then narrowly qualified thanks to a 2-0 victory over Qatar U17 in the final match.

China's U17 team (left) played very well and only narrowly lost to Japan's U17 team in the 2026 AFC U17 Championship final.

While Japan demonstrated the consistency of a championship contender, the journey of the Chinese U17 team was quite different. They advanced from the group stage with only 3 points, but played with increasing confidence as the tournament progressed.

China's representatives successively defeated Australia 2-0 in the quarter-finals and host nation Saudi Arabia 3-1 in the semi-finals, to return to the final of the AFC U17 Championship for the first time in 22 years.

The 2-3 defeat therefore did not diminish the efforts of the Chinese U17 team. The team had won the tournament twice before, but since their 2004 title, Chinese youth football had gone through a long wait for a major milestone at the continental level.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/u17-nhat-ban-di-vao-lich-su-giai-chau-a-2026-post778868.html