[2] As Japan had already qualified as the hosts, had they reached the semi-finals, the other semi-finalists were guaranteed qualification even before the phase would have commenced.

South Korea became the fourth different country to win the tournament, beating Saudi Arabia in the final,[5] while Australia defeated Uzbekistan in the third place game 1–0.

[6] Several nations expressed interest to host the tournament, including Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The teams: Iraq, Japan, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, South Korea, China PR, Australia qualified for all editions of AFC U-23 Championship till 2020.

Iran, United Arab Emirates come back after missing out in 2018, with Bahrain making their debut at the tournament finals.

[18] In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 12.1 and 12.2).