In the countdown to the World Cup final, Beijing Guoan U Team defeated Shandong Taishan U Team 1-0 in the fifth round of the second stage of the U21 League with a key goal by Yan Yu on the afternoon of December 18, Beijing time. So far, Guoan U team with a record of 4 wins and 1 draw, in the standings with a 5-point advantage to lead, just a line away from the throne of the championship.
Despite recent constraints, such as the temporary withdrawal of the Yatai U team from Zhangzhou to support the first team's tournament, and the preparation of the Guoan U team for the Chinese Super League, the remaining matches of the U21 League are still going on in an orderly manner with the joint efforts of the CFF preparatory team and the clubs. The fifth round of the tournament started as scheduled, with the match between Guoan U21s and Shandong Taishan U21s attracting a lot of attention for the championship. With excellent teamwork, Guoan controlled the pace of the game for most of the time, and Yan Yu's goal in the 20th minute sealed the victory for the team. Yan Yu scored this round, the total number of individual goals reached 6 goals, is still expected to compete for the "Golden Boot" award.
With this victory, Guoan U21s have won four and drawn one in the second phase, leading the second place team in the table with the same points and opening a five-point gap with the third place Shanghai Shenhua U. The team has won four and drew one in the second phase of the tournament.
Although Yatai U missed the 4.5th round of the tournament for some reason, the team still has a chance to return to Zhangzhou after participating in the Chinese Super League tournament to take part in the final round of the Guoan U21 team's showdown. This suggests that Guoan U21s' path to the title is still in doubt. In terms of points, Guoan has the advantage in terms of goal difference and mutual records, and if they can draw with Shanghai Port U21s in the next round, Guoan U21s will probably win the title one round earlier.
On the same day, Shanghai Shenhua U moved up to second place in the table with a 1-0 win over Guangzhou U21 with a penalty from Fernando, while Guangzhou U21 suffered their first defeat at this stage.
