AFC's 2025: A year in review
History makers, title takers and tournament shakers all feature in our review of the past year in Asian football.
Eight nations secure FIFA World Cup spots, including debutants Jordan and Uzbekistan
Field set for final stage of FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
Korea DPR claim a record-extending fourth FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup crown
A global youth title, headline hosting in the west and southeast, fan recognition, an octet of FIFA World Cup™ slots secured and a deep run at the new international club showcase were the highlights in another outstanding year of football on the planet’s most populous continent.
That success was spread right across the span of the Asian Football Confederation, as Central Asian power Uzbekistan, along with Jordan, secured a World Cup berth for the first time. East Asian heavyweights Japan and Korea Republic, West Asian giants IR Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and Southeast Asian regulars Australia are also returning to the global stage.
As the year drew to a close, Qatar hosted a fantastic second edition of the FIFA Arab Cup™, with an average attendance of almost 40,000, while the supporters of Iraqi side Zakho SC won the FIFA Fan Award at The Best FIFA Football Awards™.
As the year dawned, AFC qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026 had just passed the midway point of the third round. As it closed, all five rounds had been completed with eight nations securing direct berths to the global showpiece and Iraq confirmed as continental representatives at March’s Play-Off Tournament.
From March to June, the remaining 36 third round fixtures were played, with Japan becoming the first non-host nation to secure passage to the global finals after a 2-0 win against Bahrain on 20 March. They were followed by IR Iran five days later before Australia, Jordan, Korea Republic and Uzbekistan punched their tickets in early June.
October’s fourth round saw Qatar and Saudi Arabia complete the octet of direct qualifiers while Iraq nabbed a 107th-minute winner against United Arab Emirates in November’s fifth round to secure the Play-Off place.
It was also a busy spell of qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ as the 12-nation field for March’s Asian Cup was settled. The continental showpiece, for the final time, doubles as the qualifiers for Brazil 2027 and will be hosted in Australia. The Matildas, along with China PR, Japan and Korea Republic all earned automatic passage, and have been joined by eight qualifiers.
Those preliminary matches were played across the continent in July, with South Asian duo Bangladesh and India, along with IR Iran and Uzbekistan, the headline stories in booking their Asian Cup ticket and moving one step closer to a debut Women’s World Cup appearance.
With both the senior men’s and women’s Asian Cups set to be played over the next 12 months it was a relatively quiet time on the national team front at continental level.
No women’s youth tournaments were scheduled either, so the headline events saw Australia claim a maiden AFC U-20 Asian Cup title, as they defeated Saudi Arabia on penalties in early March. The following month, Uzbekistan were crowned AFC U-17 champions for a second time, downing hosts Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the final in Taif.
At club level, Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli defeated Japanese outfit Kawasaki Frontale to win the AFC Champions League Elite while Chinese club Wuhan Chegu Jiangda WFC won the inaugural edition of the AFC Women’s Champions League.
The versatile defender/midfielder played an important role in helping the Nashama secure a historic maiden World Cup qualification and then starred as Jordan reached the final of the Arab Cup. Equally comfortable as a left-sided wing-back or winger, the Iraq-based, Amman-born 22-year-old has also proven a real threat from set-piece situations and is already on the radar of leading clubs on the continent and beyond.
Having starred for Pakhtakor in his homeland, then at Russian side CSKA Moscow and now in Turkey, the Uzbek starlet is emerging as one of the most creative threats in Asian football. The former AFC Youth Player of the Year played a leading role in helping secure a maiden World Cup berth for the White Wolves, scoring four times in as many matches midway through the decisive third round.
It has been a long time since Japan have had a goalkeeper playing regularly in a top-tier European league but that was the role that Zion Suzuki was filling for Serie A outfit Parma prior to a recent injury. Now the undisputed first choice for the national team, Suzuki started each of the first eight third-round fixtures as Japan breezed to qualification, conceding just twice (with one an own goal) over that period. Born in New Jersey to a Ghanian father and Japanese mother, the 23-year-old will be aiming to lead his national team all the way to the World Cup final in the city of his birth.
Captain of an extraordinary Korea DPR side that set a new benchmark for women’s youth football as they steamrolled their way to the U-20 Women’s World Cup title at Colombia 2024, Chae has now graduated to being a key part of the senior side. The 21-year-old midfielder started every match as Korea DPR blazed their way through the Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers, scoring a remarkable 26 goals, with none conceded, in their three matches – a clear signal that the East Asian powerhouse should be considered serious title contenders at Brazil 2027.
Although Al Ain, Ulsan and Urawa Red Diamonds all made disappointing group-stage exits, Al Hilal represented the continent with distinction at the FIFA Club World Cup™. The Blues impressed in holding the might of Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw in their group opener before a point against Salzburg and a 2-0 win over Pachuca secured passage to the knockouts. There, the Riyadh giants stunned Manchester City with a thrilling 4-3 win in extra-time before their campaign came to an end with a 2-1 loss at the hands of Fluminense in the quarter-finals.
Wuhan also narrowly missed out on reaching the semi-finals of the inaugural edition of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, conceding a 104th-minute goal in a 2-1 loss against AS FAR in Morocco in mid-December.
The youngsters from Korea DPR then continued their extraordinary dominance of women’s youth football as they claimed a fourth FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup crown at Morocco 2025.
In a year of firsts, the Philippines hosted the maiden edition of the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™ from November to December and the charitable activities of the supporters of Iraqi side Zakho SC saw them pick up the FIFA Fan Award at The Best FIFA Football Awards.
Finally, in a wildly successful second edition of the FIFA Arab Cup well over a million fans watched the action in the Qatari cities of Al Khor, Al Rayyan, Doha and Lusail as Morocco saw off Jordan 3-2 to win a pulsating final.
The Year of the Horse is going to see a full gallop of action for Asian club and national teams. Things start with key qualifiers taking place for both the World Cup and Women’s World Cup in March as Iraq feature in the Play-Off Tournament and the Women’s Asian Cup is held in Australia.
The following month Thailand will host the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Poland 2026™, with the U-17 Women’s Asian Cup following in China in May.
Attention then turns to the North American extravaganza, where a highly-fancied Japan and the other AFC contenders are shaping to break European and South American dominance of the tournament.