The second-placed teams in Groups A, B, E, H, and J all had losing records in the fierce competition, and it was deduced that the second-placed results of these teams would undoubtedly be difficult to surpass the heights of the Chinese team's one win and one draw. As a result, China has quietly locked itself into the final round of the U17 Asian Cup as the second of the five groups.
Reaching the final round means another step closer to returning to the U17 World Cup for China.
This year, FIFA has made drastic reforms to the U17 World Cup. The tournament will be held annually from 2025 onwards, with the number of participating teams increasing to 48 and the number of Asian places increasing to nine, which is undoubtedly good news for Asian soccer. A place in the U17 World Cup will be secured by finishing among the last eight of the U17 Asian Cup. In addition, one place will be awarded to the eliminated team with the best performance in the group stage.
Next April, the Chinese team will embark on a journey to Saudi Arabia to compete in the final stage of the U17 Asian Cup. If they succeed in reaching the last eight, they will directly qualify for the U17 World Cup. Even if they fail to make it out of the group stage, they are expected to qualify even if they are ranked ninth if they win a match in extreme conditions.
