On September 4, coach Yang Chen, who will lead the U16 national team to the Asian Junior Championship qualifier with unstoppable momentum, disclosed the details of the team's preparations in an interview on Football Night.
Preparation Schedule Revealed
After an intense training session in Yuxi, Yunnan Province, China's U16 men's soccer team has returned to Beijing and departed from Shanghai on September 5 for Australia. During their stay in Beijing, the team will start a warm-up match with Guoan. The Football Association (FA) has strongly supported the team, with no cap on personnel and a registration limit of 23. Given the epidemic and other complications, the team may carry 26-28 people on the trip. The original plan was to play four warm-up matches in Osaka, Japan, but due to the worsening of the epidemic in Japan, the risk of players being infected is high, and there are many difficulties in entering Australia, so the trip was canceled, and the association leaders have also expressed their understanding. The tournament will kick off on October 5, and the tournament area is expected to open 3-5 days earlier, so the warm-up matches in Japan have been rescheduled to Australia.
Competitor analysis
Cambodia and Australia are seen as the main rivals. Although they participated in the Southeast Asia U16 Championship in July and August, this does not fully represent their strength. The Australian team has adopted the selection system and is re-preparing for the tournament after changing their head coach after the tournament. Our team can only make a judgment based on the available information, and it is not appropriate to rely entirely on the results of the tournament. Cambodia's tactical style is similar to that of Myanmar and Vietnam, with a Japanese coach at the helm, and the team will probe deeper into their preparations. The Northern Mariana Islands, the weakest opponent in the group, is also being closely watched. Although many believe that our U16s can get a lot of clean sheets from them, Yang Chen emphasized that the players must not have the slightest mentality of taking the game lightly and must go all out for a win.
Psychological support guarantees
This time, the U16 national football team has also invited psychologists to provide support, they will provide psychological counseling during the game, especially for the relief of the tension of the big game, and enhance the confidence of winning, which will be of great benefit to the players.
Players' mindset adjustment
Yang Chen used a vivid analogy to encourage the players to hold themselves to the standards of the World Cup, and to go all out for more chances from the group stage onwards. The whole team is united, from the coach to the staff to the players, the goal is to compete for the first place in the group, without considering other factors, and work together in this direction.
U16 qualifiers fixtures at a glance:
October 5 vs. Cambodia
October 7 vs. Northern Mariana Islands
October 9 vs. Australia
With the exception of hosts Australia, 10 group winners and five group seconds will advance to the main round of the Asian Junior Championships.
