Expanded cast
The tournament will feature 12 teams, four more than the previous edition with Bangladesh making their Finals' debut.

Champions to the fore
All four former winners will be vying for the title with Japan having lifted the trophy six times. Defending champions DPR Korea and Korea Republic have gone the distance twice while China PR were winners in 2006.

Amazing record
In fact, the four have qualified for every edition since the tournament was introduced in 2002, with DPR Korea advancing to the semi-finals on each occasion.

Odd ones out
Interestingly, Chinese Taipei are the only other team apart from the four previous winners to have featured in a final, with the East Asian side finishing runners-up in the inaugural edition in 2002.

Early favourites
DPR Korea and Japan, who between them won four of the last editions, will start as favourites after impressive qualifying campaigns. DPR Korea, enroute to a perfect record of three wins, netted 36 goals without reply while Japan found the back of the net 32 times as they too notched victories in all their qualifying matches.

Eyes on Australia
Australia have featured in every edition of the tournament since joining the Asian Football Confederation in 2006. They, however, have not advanced past the semi-final stage even once, with third-place finishes in 2006 and 2024 their best achievement.

Long awaited returns
While Bangladesh will be making their debut, India and Jordan will be returning to the Finals for the first time since the 2006 edition. While it will be India's third appearance, Jordan will be gracing the continental stage for the second time.

Poland lure
Besides continental glory, four tickets to the FIFA Women's U-20 World Cup Poland 2026 will be at stake, with DPR Korea the defending champions.