Uzbekistan’s 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia saw them joining Korea Republic, DPR Korea, Saudi Arabia, China PR and Oman on two titles with Japan leading the pack with four triumphs.

The expanded FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025 will see 48 teams competing for glory, opening up a historic eight spots to AFC with hosts Qatar making it nine Asian teams at the tournament in November. Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Korea Republic, DPR Korea, Japan, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and Tajikistan are the teams to have qualified. 

A total of 101 goals were scored across 31 matches with Uzbekistan’s Asilbek Aliev finishing as topscorer with five goals, giving fans plenty to cheer and be excited about. Comparatively, the 2025 edition also saw an increase compared to the 2023 edition that had a total of 98 goals.

While there was disappointment after exiting the competition, that did not stop several teams like Tajikistan and Indonesia receiving fantastic receptions upon their return to their respective countries with the achievement of qualifying for FIFA U-17 World Cup being feted.

Indonesia participated for the first time in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2023 as hosts, so it was extra special that they were able to seal a return to the global showpiece on merit after a hugely successful campaign that saw them top Group C with wins over Korea Republic, Yemen and Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan’s win in the final was already remarkable as they overcame numerical disadvantage after losing two players to red cards in the first half but in winning, the Central Asian side became the first team since Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008 to win all their matches.

DPR Korea’s run came to a halt in the semi-finals after losing 3-0 to Uzbekistan but despite playing one match fewer, the East Asian side still finished top of the charts in terms of passing, completing 2,301 passes with An Jin Sok and Choe Song Hun among the top five passers in the tournament.

The consistency and stamina of Saudi Arabia duo Abu Baker Saeed and Saeed Al Dosari as well as Uzbekistan’s Muminkhon Bakhodirkhonov deserves special mention as they were the only players to have started and completed six matches.