China's U18 men's soccer team will travel to Wakayama, Japan to compete in the 31st China-Japan-Korea Youth Games soccer tournament from the 24th to the 28th of this month. Most of the players who participated in the U17 Asian Cup in Chonburi, Thailand this past June will be representing the China U18 Men's Soccer Team, and there have been some notable changes to the coaching staff.
Currently, China's U18 men's soccer team is in the training stage, and its lineup consists of former U17 national soccer players (2006 age group) and 2005 age group U18 age players. Therefore, the CFA intends to let the former U17 national football coaching staff take the lead in forming the team.
However, Yang Chen, the former head coach of the U17 national soccer team, was unable to continue leading the team due to family illness. Shao Jiayi, the current China assistant coach of the national soccer team, joined the U18 national soccer team as the head of the China coaching staff. Another young assistant coach of the national soccer team, Chen Tao, also joined the coaching staff.
Shao Jiayi's resume has left the imprint of many national level teams. In March, Spanish coach Antonio, who led China's national youth team to the quarterfinals of the U20 Asian Cup, had Shao at his side as a leader and assistant coach.
Antonio brings to the Chinese youth team more than just a breakthrough in the international arena. He combines the advanced tactics of world soccer with the realities of Chinese players. The young players he has developed are a valuable asset for the future of Chinese soccer.
Antonio lasted almost five years in China. Many fans felt reluctant when he decided to leave Chinese soccer. Shao's cooperation with him began in his second year in China. In the 2019 Jinshan Cup International Youth Football Invitation Tournament, Antonio was the head coach of the 2004 international youth team, and Shao Jiayi was the leader.
Starting from July 24th, China's U18 men's soccer team began a month-long training at Beijing Sport University. Except for a few players who were absent due to the needs of their clubs, including Wang Yudong, all the other players were fully committed to the training.
During the training period, the coaching staff arranged several warm-up matches. In the previous final match against Beijing Guoan U21, China U18 men's soccer team shook hands with their opponents 2-2.
In addition, the China U18 boys' soccer coaching team played two warm-up matches against the Chinese Champions League team Langfang Glory City. Yesterday, the two sides concluded their first match, with the China U18 Men's Soccer Training Team defeating their opponents 2-0. However, the Langfang Glory City team didn't do all they could considering the new Chinese Champions League final season will start in early September.
Due to the fact that the upcoming soccer matches of the China U18 Men's Soccer Team in the China-Japan-Korea Youth Games are scheduled to be held on artificial fields. Therefore, the warm-up match between China U18 Men's Soccer Team and Langfang Glory City Team was also specially arranged to be held on an artificial field at the Niu Camel Base in Langfang, Hebei Province. The second warm-up match between the two sides was held on natural turf.
According to the plan, China's U18 men's football team will leave for Wakayama, Japan on August 23 to participate in the 31st China-Japan-Korea Youth Football Tournament.
