Shaikh Salman reinforces confidence in Asian contenders

—- Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has underlined his faith in Australia, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Korea Republic to shine as the attention shifts towards the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025, which kicks off on Saturday.

The four AFC representatives will aim to surpass the Continent’s best second-place performances in 1981 (Qatar), 1999 (Japan) and 2019 (Korea Republic) at the global youth showpiece, which has paved the way for some of Asia’s finest talents to break through, including reigning AFC Player of the Year Akram Afif and 2019 Golden Ball winner Lee Kang-in.

Underlining his confidence in the latest crop of Asian starlets to follow in their footsteps, Shaikh Salman said: “Our youth players have continued to showcase their ability to stand tall with the world’s elite, so I am confident that the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile will provide another opportunity for Asia’s future stars to transform into global icons of tomorrow.

“On behalf of the Asian football family, I would like to wish all our players, teams, and match officials the very best of success and I know that they will seize the opportunity, not only to do us proud but also to bring to life our ambitions as outlined in the AFC’s Vision and Mission.”

Poised for a 12th and fourth consecutive outing, 1999 finalist Japan will eye a winning start against Egypt, who are returning to the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time in 12 years, at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos in Santiago on Saturday at 5pm.

A capacity crowd awaits the Young Samurai Blue in their next Group A tie against hosts and 2007 third-placed finishers Chile (Sep 30) before contending with New Zealand (Oct 3), who are set for their seventh consecutive appearance.

Kicking off their campaign on the same day and time as their East Asian neighbours, Korea Republic, who advanced to the Semi-finals in the past two editions, will battle Ukraine in a repeat of the 2019 Final in what promises to be an epic Group B clash at Valparaiso’s Estadio Elias Figueroa Brander.

The young Taegeuk Warriors, featuring in their 17th edition, will then lock horns with Paraguay (Sep 30) and Panama (Oct 3) respectively as they seek to launch another impressive U-20 World Cup run.

Ending a 12-year hiatus, Australia will aim to extend their historic AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 title-winning form onto the global stage when they challenge 2023 runners-up Italy in Group D at the same venue at 5pm the following day.

The young Socceroos, aiming to better the fourth-placed finishes achieved in 1991 and 1993, will then face a stern test against the tournament’s most successful side with six titles, Argentina (Oct 1) before battling Cuba (Oct 4), who are set for their second appearance.

Rounding off the opening action for Asian teams, Saudi Arabia will be looking to better their 2011 and 2017 Round of 16 showing in their 10th appearance at the Finals when they open their account against Group F rivals Colombia at the Estadio Fiscal in Talca on September 29.

The AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 runners-up will then cast their sights on 1989 and 2005 finalists Nigeria (Oct 2) before taking on Norway (Oct 5), who will be seeking to advance from the Group Stage for the first time in four attempts.

The full list of Asian match officials appointed to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025 can be found here and fans can follow the-AFC.com to catch the riveting action from all the Asian sides as they seek to create more history.

All times indicated are in respective local times.

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