As a matter of fact, the Chinese men's soccer team has achieved good results in developing young players. Especially the 03 and 2004 players have great potential. In this year's U20 Asian Cup, they beat South Korea 1-1 in the regular season. And beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the group stage, which is very strong. This year is also the second tournament of the CYC. There are a lot of teams in the tournament. In the U19 division alone there were 46 teams in the tournament. in the U17 division there were more than 180 teams. in the U13 and U15 divisions there were 96 teams each in the final. It can be said that the number of teams in the tournament is increasing one at a time. Chinese soccer is developing in a good direction.
So when will China's soccer development return to the level reached by the golden generation in 1985? The answer is that there is a lot of hope three years from now. First, let's take a look at the level the Golden Generation reached on August 5th. At that time, under the leadership of head coach Zhang Zhicheng, players such as Gao Hongbo and Li Hui were the main players. That group of teams not only stormed into the World Youth Championships, but also beat the UAE 1-0, Thailand 2-1 and Saudi Arabia 2-2 in outstanding performances.
The Saudi men's soccer team is a traditional Asian powerhouse. The strength of the team is outstanding both at the national team level and at the young ladder level. If we take Saudi Arabia as a reference, Antonio and Shao Jia beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the group stage of the March 2023 Asian Youth Championship. Though they lost against Japan, their penalty calls on the pitch were controversial. And in the knockout round match against South Korea, they drew 1-1 with their opponents in regulation. South Korea's goal was still scored on a penalty kick, and we wouldn't have lost to South Korea at all.
Overall, the group of 03 and 04 age group players who participated in the U20 Asian Cup tournament in March this year. Although they did not qualify for the World Youth Championship, their strength has reached the top level in Asia. Although this generation of players did not achieve the desired results for the time being, they helped Chinese soccer in the next intercontinental tournament for the young echelon. Even though all the matches will help well after they grow up to be national team players in the future, there is actually a lot of potential.
For example, after the U20 Asian Cup, players such as Efirdin and Li Hao actively worked out abroad. Many players, such as Mutalipu and Hu Huotao, jumped into the U22 national Olympic team and became starters. This is a good indication that the younger generation really has potential. Not to mention the fact that they made it to two consecutive Asian Junior Championships in 2004 and 2006. Charged into the Asian Youth Championship with the 03 and 04 age groups. This generation of players is obviously better than the 01 age group players and the 99 age group players.
The excellent rescue population base is significantly higher for 06 age group players compared to 03. , 2004 players are better. Although the 2006 players did not have the desired results in this year's Asian Junior Championships, the fact that Tajikistan, who drew 1-1 with the first-ranked team, scored three goals and did not fall behind against Australia shows that they have a lot of potential for development. Not to mention that there are plenty of good players. Hu Hu Huotao is still in the Chinese Super League. It's clear that the young players are getting a very good workout playing in Chengdu Rongcheng as the main players.
The 1985 Golden Generation defeated England 2-0, Paraguay 2-1, and Mexico 1-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Youth Championship. Although the current young generation has not achieved such results, if we refer to the rival teams from intercontinental tournaments like the Asian Youth Championship, such as Saudi Arabia and South Korea, the young generation has clearly reached the level of the golden generation of '85. Three years later, the 03, 2004 players will also inevitably have a number of players into the national team. In Asia, Chinese soccer will be completely renewed and returned to the top level.
