First of all, the path of transformation of the national youth team, from the hiring of Japanese coaches to the technical establishment of the team, is undoubtedly to draw wisdom from Japanese soccer.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced yesterday that former U20 head coach Antonio has officially taken over as head coach of the U21 men's soccer team, and he will lead the team to the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
From national team coach Ivankovic, to Antonio at U21, to Djurdjevic at U19, it's easy to glimpse the pain of transition in the new CFA.
Abandon all the national ladder team local coaches, seemingly bold, but is a helpless recognition of the status quo. After all, our coaching team in the promotion of space is huge.
The U16 national youth team chose Japanese coach Kenichi Uemura, which not only reflects Song Kai's open-mindedness, but also a reference to Japanese soccer technology.
Although we didn't see a distinctly Japanese style of soccer in the 4:0 thrashing of Vietnam. The national youth team relied on a hard-hitting style of play, making the most of their physical strengths, but this is truly unique in Southeast Asian soccer.
Facing Japan's passing soccer today, we will witness a stark contrast between Kenichi Uemura and local coaches such as Jia Xiuquan, Fu Bo and Cheng Yaodong.
Secondly, the emergence of Aidubra is undoubtedly a major event for Chinese soccer.
At the beginning of the match, the National Youth Team emphasized long passes and physical confrontation, while Kenichi Uemura focused most on fast pace, which was the only difference between the National Youth and the Japanese team.
Despite the undulating Shenyang turf and increasing rain, Japan's footwork did not play to their advantage.
However, as the game progressed, Japan gradually adapted to the rhythm of the game and showed its technical superiority. In the 31st minute, China made a mistake at the back and Japan easily broke through.
That turnover was the consequence of Kenichi Uemura's insistence on pass control.
Kenichi Uemura emphasized defense to offense and offensive transition, and the national youth team did not perform well in this area.
However, it is worth noting that the National Youth Football League was aggressive on the offensive end and did not choose to hunker down in the half-court.
In the 52nd minute of the second half, after a breakthrough on the right side of the road, Ebibulla's left-footed curved ball shot far away from the goal, a goal reminiscent of the national football team's classic counterattack against South Korea that year.
Ebibullah's potential far exceeds that of Deng Zhuoxiang, and as a Xinjiang player, his ability to hit goals that make opponents defenseless marks the 2.0 era of Xinjiang soccer.
However, in the 77th minute, the Chinese goalie made a mistake on the ball and Japan broke through again, making the final score 1:0.
The reason why the national youth team lost the game is still the lack of technical level, especially the footwork of the backfield players, which is far from the requirements of the Japanese coach.
Nonetheless, compared to the past, the U16 national youth performance does deserve recognition.
U19 national youth in the two games with Iran, but also fully proved that with the physical quality of Chinese players, only simple and rough playing style can not beat the strong enemy.
U15 and U16 national youth team both choose Japanese coach, Song Kai in the pain, after learning from the pain, opened the road of reform of the national youth team.
The CFA has made great efforts in the selection of coaches for the men's and women's national soccer teams, invitations to invitational tournaments at all levels, etc., and they have done a much more solid job compared to the Basketball Association.
Revitalizing the three major sports is not an overnight feat, but the U16 National Youth Football League, under the leadership of a Japanese coach, offers the possibility for Chinese soccer to regain respect in a short period of time.
Chinese fans don't really demand much from soccer, and they feel satisfied as long as they see the progress of the National Youth Football Team.
