The seeding for the 16 teams at the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup is as follows:
Pot 1: Saudi Arabia (hosts), Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq
Pot 2: South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, Qatar
Pot 3: Thailand, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Iran
Pot 4: China, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon
Despite having qualified for the tournament in Xi'an, China U-22 faced tough challenges ahead in the final stage.