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.