Heavy news came from the soccer field on October 28th, Beijing time, China's U16 National Junior Team drew 2-2 with South Korea after some fierce battles, and with this result, they successfully locked the ticket for next year's U17 Asian tournament as the second in the group.
Meanwhile, in another group of matches, Iran, who also advanced to second place in the group, have raised questions about the age of their fellow opponents, North Korea. The Iranian Football Federation has officially sent a letter to the AFC requesting an investigation into the age of North Korean players.
Iran emerged from Group A of the qualifiers with three wins and one loss, placing second in the group. The qualifiers are divided into 10 groups, with the first place winner in each group advancing directly, while the second place winners of the top five in each group will compete for a place in the qualifying round.
In the Group A tournament, Iran defeated North Korea 1-4, while North Korea has won four consecutive matches to advance. The qualifiers came to an end and the Iranian Football Federation then protested, suspecting the North Korean team of alleged age fraud.
According to several Iranian media reports, the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) mentioned in a letter to AFC Secretary General Windsor John that "some North Korean players have physical traits and physiques that are clearly beyond the age of 17, which could jeopardize the fairness of the game."
The Iranian Football Federation (IFF) also emphasized that "if the offending players participate, it may put an extra burden on young players mentally and physically, and may even lead to serious injuries that can negatively affect their careers."
The Iranian Football Federation (IFF) not only raised questions, but also directly named six North Korean players, including Choi Jung-hyuk, Choi Sung-hoon, Kim Yoo-jin, Lee Kang-rim, Lee Kang-sung, and Han Il-bok, and demanded a detailed investigation into their ages.
Aftar Iranian media further reported that Abbas Chamanian, the head coach of Iran's U-16 national team, was aware of the possibility that North Korea might have changed the age of the players prior to the match and quickly challenged the match director. The Iranian Football Federation's protest has attracted widespread attention and how AFC will respond to the incident is in the public spotlight.
