Recently, the national team's game density is extremely high, however, the results are mediocre, just concluded the Asian Games, as the host of the national team only stopped eight, the strength of the shortcomings exposed, triggering a wide range of discussions. So, how can we effectively improve the strength? The answer obviously does not lie in the national team itself, but rather in its roots, especially focusing on grassroots soccer, which is the cradle of talent selection. Therefore, the U15 International Soccer Invitational Tournament has attracted a lot of attention, and the focus of attention is not on the national team's lineup, but on the U15 team, Soccer Youth, which was carefully selected by the private sector. Through unremitting efforts, many 15-year-old talents have emerged from this team, and Kuang Zhaolun is one of the best.
Initially, it was widely believed that this tournament was heavy on participation, however, the athletes of Soccer Youth delivered an amazing performance. The tournament was played in a 70-minute format, and in the first 15 minutes of the first half, they beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2, then drew with Hanoi 2-2, tied with Brisbane Lions 0-0, and ultimately beat South American giants River Plate by one goal to advance to the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they faced another European powerhouse, Feyenoord, and despite being slightly weaker, they fought a fierce battle with their rivals, eliminating them with a score of 4-2 and advancing to the final. According to the schedule, in the final on October 9, they will face Argentine powerhouse River Plate, who eliminated Red Star Belgrade in the semifinals.
With an average age of one year older than Soccer Youth and four starters from Argentina's 08-age national youth team, River Plate has a lot of calls to win the title. Although the soccer youth team does not have the advantage in strength, they are not without chances, as their victory in the group stage has proved. In the final, both sides sent their strongest lineups.
As the game began, River Plate quickly took control of the midfield, with over 70% of the ball in their possession, constantly putting pressure on Soccer Youth's penalty area. In the 18th minute, River Plate lifted the ball into the penalty area, and Soccer Youth's clearance was wrong, and the ball did not fly too far. River Plate won the ball and passed it diagonally into the penalty area, where the player took a powerful shot to open the scoring.
After falling behind, Soccer Youth launched a counterattack, but struggled to pose a substantial threat to the River Plate goal. At the end of the half, they only got one shot on goal and still trailed 0-1. In the second half, the lineups of both sides remained unchanged and River Plate continued to maintain the tempo of possession. As the game progressed, the soccer youth team's fitness gradually declined and their offense was weak. River Plate completed the shutout in the 69th minute through a penalty kick. Soccer Youth lost the chance to equalize and finally had to accept a loss and miss the championship. River Plate won the championship as expected. Facing many strong teams, the Football Youth Team was able to win the second place, which was an achievement beyond expectation, and their performance won wide recognition from the outside world.
