As the final round of matches in the final round of the 20th U17 Asia Cup Qualifiers came to a close just before 11:30 p.m. BST on September 9, a number of key battles had been decided. In Groups B, E, F and I, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand and Laos, as well as another team from Group C, are all tied on three points with a goal difference of no more than seven. In this double battle of points and goal difference, our 2006 age group U17 national team, with the best six second place in the group, came out on top and successfully advanced to the final round. Following the U19 national team of the 2003 age group, our U17 national team has consecutively broken into the final stage of the Asian Cup, which is a great encouragement to our national team and even to the whole Chinese soccer world.
After our U17 team defeated Australia U17 team 1-3 on the afternoon of the 9th, until the end of Laos' match against Kyrgyzstan, several other groups in the U17 Asia Cup qualifying tournament also played crucial outing matches. In several matches with the fate of our U17s at stake, Thailand went down 0-3 to Vietnam, Indonesia lost 1-5 to Malaysia, Bangladesh lost 0-4 to Yemen, and Qatar beat Lebanon 4-1. Thus, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos and the second-placed team in Group C all accumulated three points, while their goal difference was lower than our U17 team's seven. According to the rules of the tournament, the six second-placed teams with the highest number of points in the group will advance to the final stage of next year's U17 Asia Cup along with the other 10 top teams in the group. This also means that, regardless of the outcome of the final round of the qualifiers, our U17 team is already firmly out of the line.
After the national soccer team failed to reach the final round of the World Cup for five consecutive times, the U19 national team of the 2003 age group and the U17 national team of the 2006 age group broke into the final round of the U20 Asian Cup and the U17 Asian Cup successively. These two national youth teams not only successfully completed their tasks for the year, but also injected new vitality into the country's stuttering soccer career. Being able to reach the final stage of the Asian Cup for their respective age groups means that the system of these two national youth teams has been preserved intact.
In the long run, these two teams and their players of the right age have also gained a broader space for development and a stage for displaying their talents. The common progress of the two teams in their respective fields has also accumulated a rich talent pool for our national teams at all levels, which will help improve the international competitiveness of our teams. It is worth mentioning that, after our women's soccer team won the Asian Cup again, the men's national team, especially the youth team, is also making unremitting efforts and gradually getting on the right track with the support of all parties, which has become the hope for the future of China's soccer.
