Indonesia and 3 Asian representatives eliminated, 4 other teams advance to the Round of 32 in the 2025 U-17 World Cup

Four Asian representatives had to end their journey early at the 2025 U-17 World Cup. After completing three group stage matches, Indonesia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia were confirmed to have failed to advance to the round of 32.

Conversely, four other Asian teams performed solidly, keeping the hopes of the Asian continent alive in this most prestigious youth tournament. They are Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, and North Korea.

Japan became the only Asian team to advance to the knockout stage as undefeated group winners. The Young Samurai Blue delivered impressive performances throughout the group stage, securing two wins and one draw.

Japan started their impressive campaign by defeating Morocco 2-0 in their opening match, drawing 0-0 with New Caledonia, and overcoming Portugal 2-1.

These results saw Japan finish as Group B winners with seven points, followed by Portugal as runners-up with six points.

South Korea and Uzbekistan also showed consistent performances. Both teams finished as runners-up in their respective groups and secured their places in the knockout stage.

South Korea remained undefeated in Group F, collecting seven points. They successfully defeated Mexico (2-1) and Ivory Coast (3-1), while drawing goalless against Switzerland.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan secured two wins against Paraguay (2-1) and Panama (6-1), but suffered a 1-2 loss to the Republic of Ireland.

The other Asian team advancing to the round of 32 is North Korea, who qualified via the best third-place finishers route. North Korea topped the best third-place standings by collecting four points.

With the elimination of four Asian teams, including Indonesia, hopes now rest on the four remaining representatives. Can they reach the quarter-finals and repeat the surprise achieved by Japan in the previous edition?