Some time has passed since the China-Korea war at the U20 Asian Youth Championship, and Efirdin is still reluctant, "If there were no penalties, could we have possibly won the U20 World Cup ticket and could we have stood on the World Youth Championship stage?"
AYA defeat
On the evening of March 12, 2023, hundreds of millions of Chinese fans were watching a match: the U20 Asian Youth Championship Round of Eight - China vs. South Korea. This is the second time after nine years that China's youth teams have managed to break through to the group stage of the Asian Youth Championship. As soon as they cross the last eight, China's name will reappear in the World Youth Championship after 18 years.
Mutalifu's goal from a small angle in the next three minutes allowed China to stick to its defensive counterattack to receive the lead gift bag that once allowed Antonio's team to see the World Juniors beckon to them, but China's dominance didn't last long as South Korea took advantage of a penalty opportunity to equalize the score, and two consecutive goals in overtime reversed the trend, mercilessly crushing China's dreams of making it to the World Junior Championships.
Issue 866 of Football Weekly is hot off the presses
With 2023 Chinese Super League Order Book
After the match in the Chinese locker room, because of the red card penalty, early back to the locker room head coach Antonio and each player embraced, encouragement also fully affirmed the team's performance, "even if the game again, we are still the best team in Asia, we are still the top eight in Asia, may be the top four in Asia." Antonio emphasized that the players should be proud of their performance in this tournament, "We proved on the Asian stage that we are not worse than any team, and that no team can easily score from us. Regardless of the outcome of the match, we are the strongest competitors in Asian soccer."
The night of the national dream break was destined to be a sleepless one. As captain, the image of the UAE referee's decision to give South Korea the equalizing penalty has been haunting Efirdin's mind, making it difficult to sleep. "After the defeat, I went back and opened my phone and saw many messages from people, including the first one being a comforting message from my parents. Videoing with them for a while and then... It was actually hard to digest. I couldn't sleep all night. I kept thinking about that picture. Where can we do better? It's been so close, there's still a step to go, and finally... Can we get back to reality after a good night's sleep?"
Impressions of Japan
The young Efirdin took an unusual path to soccer. 2015 "who is the king of the ball" China soccer folk competition national finals doll group championship battle, not only is his soccer career debut, but also his fame battle.
Not having competed at any youth level and not having a record of playing in the China U-Series has not stopped the Xinjiang Kashgar children from being selected for the national brand's teams on several occasions. In the last few years, the U16 National Youth, U17 National Youth, U19 National Youth and U20 National Youth lists have always included one name: Efirdin Eskal.
More unusually, Efirdin realized his dream of studying abroad in 2017.J-League side Shimizu Drums' U18s were the first stop in his overseas career. A year later, he became part of the Japanese league's traditional giants Kashima Antlers U18 team and participated in the 2018 Evergrande U17 International Champions Cup. It was his goals that helped Kashima Antlers win over the hosts and finish fifth in the tournament.
When it comes to Japanese soccer, Efirdin uses the word rigor to describe his personal feelings, especially the habits and pace of play of the Japanese players, as well as their attitude towards training. "When I first came to Japan, my personality and apathy had nothing to do with the rigor of the Japanese. They were very organized every day," Efirdin sighed. Slowly, without realizing it.
