Looking back, China's U23 soccer team has had few highlights on the Asian Cup stage. Since entering the tournament, there has been only one win in four appearances, with the rest ending in losses and few group stage appearances. The only thing worth remembering is that we broke the historical embarrassment with a win in the locally organized tournament, but the spark of victory seems to have failed to last.
However, this year's Chinese youth team has shown a very different look. At the U15 East Asian Cup, we beat traditional powerhouses Japan and South Korea with a stunning victory, and the joy of winning the title is still fresh in our ears. Despite being in the Group of Death at the U20 Asian Cup and facing the challenge of Saudi Arabia and Japan, we lost and advanced to the knockout rounds as second in the group, losing to South Korea in extra time. All of this seems to indicate that the influence of the adult national team is not as weak as it seems.
Facing the upcoming match against Qatar, the U23 team is facing the dilemma of missing starters. Goalkeeper Huang Zihao can only serve as an accompaniment due to the goalkeeper drought, while the two stars of the side, Xie Wenneng and Tao Qianglong, are unable to participate in the training due to the competition in the Chinese Super League. If we can strengthen these three positions, China's U23 squad will be more powerful, and the future performance is undoubtedly worth looking forward to.
