On January 24, 2026 Chinese football media platform Dongqiudi released a special visual ahead of the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 final featuring China U23 against Japan U23. The graphic features Goku from Dragon Ball as the Japanese representative, facing Sun Wukong.
In the final, Japan U23 won 4-0 over China U23, successfully defending their AFC U23 Asian Cup title and becoming the first team to win back-to-back U23 Asian Cups. Ryunosuke Sato scored, including from a penalty, and Japan finished with a convincing victory.
For China U23 it was their first ever appearance in an AFC U23 Asian Cup final. Prior to this tournament China had never advanced beyond the group stage.
One interesting note is that the character Goku from the Dragon Ball series was originally inspired by the mythological Monkey King Sun Wukong from the Chinese classic Journey to the West. Toriyama Akira borrowed traits such as a tail, a staff, and cloud travel from Sun Wukong when creating Goku early in the series. You can see the visual below.
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Source: 懂球帝 (Dongqiudi)
Dragon Ball ©BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION
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