In the midst of the heated battles in Group A of the East Asian Football Confederation (EAFC) U15 Boys' Soccer Championship, the showdown between the U15 soccer teams of China and South Korea was particularly noteworthy. After an intense 90+5 minute battle, China's U15 National Junior Football Team drew 1-1 with South Korea. In the end, Korea advanced to the first place in Group A by virtue of their goal difference (as shown in the picture above). The outstanding performance of Evergrande Soccer Schools certainly added luster to this matchup!
In the U15 East Asia Cup, China U15 and Japan U15 were in different groups, while Chinese Taipei U15 was in the second place in Group B. The semifinal matchup was thus formed: China U15 versus Japan U15 versus Korea U15. As a result, the semifinal matchups were: China U15 vs. Chinese Taipei U15 and Japan U15 vs. Korea U15, and these young players deserve a lot of praise for their performance, both from the players on the field and the hard-working coaching team. Not only did they make it to the semi-finals, but they also saved their team from going head-to-head with the powerful Japanese team, as if they had gotten a ticket to the final in advance.
This U15 national junior team is temporarily formed by Evergrande Soccer School, gathering excellent players such as Luneng Soccer School and led by Japanese coach Masaki Nakamura himself. In this game, there are 8 players from Evergrande Soccer School in the starting lineup. Such a team formation not only improves the team's overall tacit understanding, but also against the individual weaknesses of the Evergrande players to supplement, to ensure that the team's technical and tactical level of the overall improvement.
One wonders if this is the strongest lineup for the U15 National Junior League. The answer is obviously no. This is because a tournament such as the U15 National Junior Championship does not require extensive screening on a national scale. Usually, the match between the strongest team in the country and the top players is more likely to bring excellent results. The tacit cooperation between players is a major advantage of Evergrande Soccer School.
It is worth mentioning that the U15 national team's advancement to the first place in the group is of great significance for Chinese soccer. In the past, we often encountered strong opponents when we finished second in the group, but now we let South Korean soccer taste this kind of taste and face the strong impact of Japan. This kind of calmness is something that has not been seen in Chinese soccer for a long time. It also gives us confidence in the future of Chinese soccer, and keeps us patient and persistent in our youth training endeavors.
Despite the immaturity of the players' technical characteristics and physical development, the U15 tournament is extremely variable. Just because you can win the group stage today doesn't mean you'll be able to keep your players in the same form in a couple of years' time. But for now, at least, the 15-year-old Chinese players are no match for South Korea. This brings hope to Chinese soccer and strengthens our confidence and patience in youth training.
