2016 AFC U-19 Championship
The 2016 AFC U-19 Championship was the 39th edition of the AFC U-19 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-19 national teams of Asia. The tournament was hosted by Bahrain, as announced by the AFC on 3 June 2015, and was scheduled to be played between 13–30 October 2016. A total of 16 teams played in the tournament.
| بطولة آسيا للشباب تحت 19 عاما 2016 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Bahrain |
| Dates | 13–30 October |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Japan (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Saudi Arabia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 31 |
| Goals scored | 84 (2.71 per match) |
| Attendance | 39,304 (1,268 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Sami Al-Najei Abdulrahman Al-Yami (4 goals each) |
| Best player(s) | Ritsu Dōan |
| Fair play award | Japan |
Same as previous editions, the tournament acted as the AFC qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The top four teams of the tournament qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea as the AFC representatives, besides South Korea who qualified automatically as hosts. If South Korea were among the top four teams, three play-off matches would be played to decide the fifth-placed team which also qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup; however, this was not necessary as South Korea were eliminated in the group stage.
Japan conquered the title for the first time after beating Saudi Arabia in the final's penalty shootout, and also set a record in the competition for being the first team to win the tournament without conceding a single goal.
On 25 October 2016, the AFC President, Salman Al-Khalifa, congratulated Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, IR Iran and Japan on qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2017. The four teams will join hosts South Korea to make up Asia's five representatives at the tournament.