On the morning of August 10th, the 2005 U18 National Football Training Team played their second match in two days against the new champions Langfang Glory City at the Langfang Niu Camel Football Training Base and lost 0-1 to their opponents. However, the U18 national soccer team can "compete" with a strong quasi-professional team, and the visiting U18 national soccer team still achieved the desired practical results. As a new coach, Shao Jiayi, the head of the Chinese coaching staff of the U18 national soccer training team, deepened her understanding of the team and the players through such matches. These efforts have laid a good foundation for the official team and preparation of the 2005 national soccer team, bearing the impact of the 2028 Olympic Games.
The second game was played on natural turf
A day earlier, after playing its first warm-up match against Langfang Glory City at the artificial field of the Bull Moose base, the U18 national soccer training team played its second warm-up match against its opponents on a natural grassland of the base at 10 a.m. on the 10th, with an interval of less than 24 hours.
The U18 national soccer training team participated in two warm-up matches at such an intense pace, mainly because the Chinese Football Association did not implement team concentration until July 24th. Due to objective factors, it was difficult for the team to find high-quality warm-up opponents in a short period of time. Prior to that, the U18 national soccer training team only took advantage of the training opportunity at Beijing Sport University to play a teaching match against Beijing Guoan U21 team.
It is worth noting that the first match of the U18 National Football Training Team was scheduled to be played on an artificial field, as the soccer matches of the 31st CJK Youth Games were scheduled to be played on an artificial field. Prior to that, the U18 National Football Training Team's ball training was also scheduled to be played on an artificial field. However, considering that the sweltering weather and field conditions could lead to more accidental injuries, the two teams decided to schedule the second warm-up match on a natural grassland.
Final 0-1 against Langfang City of Glory
Unlike the first match, the home team started on the 10th. The opening goal was accomplished by Langfang City of Glory in only 14 minutes. After that, the home team dominated the field with good ground possession. The possession rate was over 65% (calculated by field researchers).
Heading into the second half, Langfang City of Glory Head Coach Liu Junwei replaced most of his starters.The U18 National Soccer Training Team utilized an unlimited quota of substitutions, dispatching generals with vigor to ensure that the goal remained unbroken while improving the team's performance on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field. The 1-0 scoreline lasted until the final whistle after both sides missed several chances to score.
After the U18 entry
The future is unknown.
After the game, Shao Jiayi accepted an interview with a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily. Regarding the match, he summarized, "After two weeks of training, I just remembered all the players' names." Shao Jiayi especially emphasized, "Through the two matches yesterday and today, I have a clear understanding of the players' abilities and personality traits. Although the matches were one win and one loss, I am satisfied with their tactical execution and understanding."
It is understood that the U18 training team's current task is to participate in the current China-Japan-South Korea Youth Games soccer competition. Due to the team in a hurry, the CFA had to temporarily the current national football assistant coach Shao Jiayi, Chen Tao seconded to the U18 national football training team coaching team, arrange the original U17 national football assistant coaching team to participate in the team coaching.
As we all know, the 2005 national soccer team will take on the responsibility of influencing the 2028 Olympics in the long run, and they are supposed to be the elite echelon of men's soccer national branding created by the Chinese Football Association (CFA). As early as the end of last year and the beginning of this year, the Chinese Football Association had planned to officially put up the flag for this age group and had even found a famous local coach to communicate with the team. However, due to various factors, the matter has been put on hold for the time being.
Although the coaching team with Shao Jiayi as the head of the coaching staff temporarily began to take over the task of leading the team, but where will this team go after returning from Japan, and when will the U18 national football team formally form a team? It is still unclear. Shao Jiayi and Chen Tao completed the work of leading the team, will soon be with the national football team to prepare for the world preliminaries and the Asian Cup. Of course, if this young coaching team leads the team to achieve good results in this China-Japan-South Korea Youth Games, it will actually win favorable conditions for the team's future formation and development.
