The AFC U-23 Championship Group Stage concluded today with South Korea facing Australia and Syria playing Vietnam in Group D to determine the final two qualifiers for the quarter-final stage of the competition, which will kick off on January the 19th.
South Korea beat Australia 3-2 to secure top spot of their group and were followed by Vietnam who managed a 0-0 draw with Syria; enough for the Golden Dragons to finish in 2nd place with 4 points as they pipped Australia in 3rd place by a point.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | South Korea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 |
| 2 | Vietnam | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Syria | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 2 |
Group A saw hosts China eliminated with only 1 win in 3 games, which came in the first matchweek against Oman in front of a crowd of 11,800. This, however, did not propel them to a top two finish, when they lost to eventual qualifiers Uzbekistan 1-0 and Qatar 2-1 respectively. Qatar’s Almoez Ali starred for them, scoring in the 1-0 win against Uzbekistan and a brace against hosts China.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Qatar | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 9 |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 | China PR | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 |
| 4 | Oman | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
Japan topped Group B with a 100% record, followed by Palestine in 2nd place with 4 points, overcoming North Korea (4 points) on goal difference. As North Korea beat Thailand 1-0 in the first matchweek and drew with Palestine 1-1 in the second matchweek, it all went down on the final matchweek. Palestine thrashed Thailand 5-1, coupled with a 3-1 defeat of North Korea against Japan (compared to Palestine’s 1-0 loss in the first matchweek) helped Palestine qualify with a goal difference of +3.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 |
| 2 | Palestine | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 |
| 3 | North Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 4 |
| 4 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 0 |
Finally, in Group C came three Arabian teams in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. However, only one of the qualified for the next round – Iraq – who defeated Malaysia 4-1 and Jordan 1-0 alongside a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia to top the group with 7 points. Following them was Malaysia, who after losing to Iraq in the first matchweek, drew with Jordan in the next matchweek and shockingly beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 on the final day.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Iraq | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 |
| 2 | Malaysia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 3 | Jordan | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 2 |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 |
The quarter-final match-ups:
| Match | Date | Stadium |
| Qatar vs. Palestine | 19-1-2018 | 19:30 (China Time) | Changzou Olympic Sports Centre |
| Japan vs. Uzbekistan | 19-1-2018 | 16:00 | Jiangyin Stadium |
| Iraq vs. Vietnam | 20-1-2018 | 19:30 | Changshu Stadium |
| South Korea vs. Malaysia | 20-1-2018 | 16:00 | Kunshan Stadium |
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)