Moving into 2023, the soccer world is ushering in an annual feast, with the U20 Asian Cup in full swing, followed two months later by the drums of battle for the U20 World Cup. Meanwhile, the Asian Games will also be blown in September, and Hangzhou will welcome the Chinese team to make a spectacular debut.
In the midst of this soccer boom, Chinese men's soccer teams of all ages are running around training and competing. The national youth team is going all out for the U20 Asian Cup. The adult national team is also about to set foot on New Zealand soil for an overseas training trip and two friendly matches against the New Zealand national team.
Meanwhile, China's Asian Games team is also training in West Asia, having played against United Sports Dubai of the United Arab Emirates not long ago. In that showdown, Wuhan Sanzhen youngster Tao Qianglong stepped up to the plate and helped the Chinese Asian Games team to a 1-0 win with a goal.
It is worth noting that former U24 China Asian Games head coach Jankovic was recently promoted to head coach of the adult national team. With that, he recommended his compatriot Djurdjevic to take over as head coach of the U23 Asian Games. Although Djurdjevic has not been on the job for long, he has brought a new breath of fresh air to the Asian Games in China.
In their latest warm-up match, the Djurdjevic-coached Asian Games team played to a 1-1 draw with the UAE's Peninsula FC U21s. In this match, Djurdjevic continued to use an attack-oriented 433 formation. Fang Hao, Dai Weijun, Tao Qianglong and other core players performed well, Tao Qianglong even contributed a goal, and the Chinese Asian Games team also ushered in the first victory in the West Asia tour.
In the group stage of the U20 Asian Cup, the national youth team defeated the powerful West Asian powerhouse Saudi Arabia with a score of 2-0, successfully reversing the previous unfavorable situation and regaining the opportunity to get out of the group, which is undoubtedly a joy for Chinese soccer.
However, Chinese soccer has hit a low point in the past year, and the failures of the national soccer team and the management of the Football Association, such as Chen Xuyuan, Li Tie, Liu Yi and Chen Yongliang, have seriously affected the team's performance in the international arena. Not only were they eliminated early, but they lost to a Vietnam team we have never lost to.
With the successive fall of Li Tie, Liu Yi and Chen Xuyuan, Chinese soccer is gradually ushering in a new weather, and the domestic soccer environment is gradually warming up. Against this backdrop, the U20 national team and the U24 Asian Games team have also emerged on the Asian stage, injecting new vitality into Chinese soccer, especially men's football, and giving fans hope for a revival.
From this perspective, the fact that the black sheep of Chinese soccer such as Li Tie, Chen Xuyuan and Liu Yi have been brought to justice has played a key role in the trough and rebound of Chinese soccer. Next, let's look forward to what the adult national team led by Jankovic will show in the warm-up matches in New Zealand.
Here, we also hope that under the leadership of the brand-new Football Association, the Chinese team can quickly return to the right track, and in the near future from Asia's third-rate level to Asia's second-rate, and strive to return to the top of the Asian soccer!
