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After losing to South Korea in overtime, the boys of the U20 national football team shed tears of unwillingness.
They made a history of reaching the quarterfinals in Asia for the first time in nine years, but they failed to cross the gap of 18 years without reaching the World Junior Championships.
However, the outside world has given rare collective praise for the performance of the U20 national football team. In this young team that "fought to the end", people seem to see the hope and direction of Chinese football.
↑The Chinese team starters take a group photo before the game.
On the 15th, the U20 national football team will return to Beijing by plane from Uzbekistan, and the Chinese Football Association specially arranged for He Xi, deputy secretary-general of the association in charge of the work of the national team, to pick up the airport at the capital airport.
For the Chinese men's football team, which has lost consecutive battles in recent years, this is already a rare courtesy.
So, what's so special about this team? And what enlightenment can it bring to the Chinese men's national team?
↑ Chinese team players in training.
Chinese football can compete with strong teams
A metaphor is worth playing, "If your child's grades in primary school and middle school are not good, then how do you expect him to be suddenly admitted to a key university during the college entrance examination?" ”
As for Chinese football, they have not reached the knockout stage for nine years before this edition of the U20 Asian Cup. After 2005, it has been 18 years since the World Youth Championships.
As the old saying goes, "When you are young, big is not necessarily good." But if you think about it the other way around – if you can't compete with the Asian giants of the same age group at the teenage level, the gap will only widen by the time of the adult national team.
The U20 Asian Cup has shown people that as long as there is a suitable technical and tactical play and strong willpower, Chinese football can actually still deal with strong teams.
Head coach Antonio said: "In the past, we have been asking, why can't we win against Japan and South Korea? Actually, yes, we've actually shown something in this competition. ”
↑ Chinese team head coach Antonio watches player training.
The U20 national football team actually embarked on the Asian Cup journey without a desired goal. Before departure, team leader Shao Jiayi admitted that on paper, the probability of the team successfully qualifying and winning a ticket to the U20 World Cup is 20%.
And when they dragged South Korea into overtime in the quarterfinal, no one would dare to say what the final result of the game was.
If it really comes to the final moment of the penalty shootout, will the outstanding goalkeeper Li Hao bring more surprises to people?
In the three games of the group stage, the U20 national football team once led Japan and finally suffered a reversal due to two controversial goals, and in the second game, they seized the few counter-attack opportunities in a passive situation, knocked down Saudi Arabia 2-0, and also led the first goal in the final round against the not weak Kyrgyzstan team, to achieve the result they wanted.
↑ China head coach Antonio (front left) celebrates promotion after the game.
Step by step, they reached the knockout round with tenacious hard work. Before the final showdown with South Korea, Antonio's team has finally become a force that no one can ignore.
He spoke at the pre-match press conference, "I believe that 10 days ago, no one would have thought that the head coach of the Chinese team would be sitting here today. But in football, anything can happen. ”
In this knockout match with South Korea, the 6 substitutions of the U20 national football team were all carried off the field due to cramps caused by physical exhaustion, and not even a single player was replaced standing up... They have done everything they have to shoot the last bullet in their guns.
On March 12, Chinese player Zhang Yixuan (top left, second from left) competed for the top spot in the game. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Che Zhouyong)
The competition spawned the rise of new forces
This year's U20 national football team has a total of 7 Xinjiang players selected, accounting for almost 1/3 of the total number of the team. From captain Eiffelding to "magical substitute" Mutalif, Xinjiang guys have repeatedly made achievements, and some netizens lamented, "Xinjiang power may become the hope of Chinese football".
Guangzhou youngster Eiffelding is the captain of this team. Before this year's U20 Asian Cup, people's impression of him may come from the reckless performance of applying for a red card in the Chinese Super League last season.
But in this team, he's an out-and-out offensive knife. It can be said that most of the team's offensive threat comes from his dribbling, getting rid of, and taking the ball after holding it on the left wing, and even the commentator exclaiming that the ball is in the "Eiffelding zone" after he has the ball.
↑China's Eiffelding Eskar (left) passes the ball during the match and then causes the opponent to score an own goal.
It seems that the growth that the competition has brought him is not just under his feet.
After the team reached the quarterfinals, Eiffelding expressed his sincerity in an interview, expressing his hope to bring joy to the country and the people. After the team regretted being out, Eiffelding wrote on social platforms: "We never complained, we only thought of running one more step for our teammates. ”
Like Eiffelding, the name of another Xinjiang youngster Mutalip will be remembered after this U20 World Cup. Against Saudi Arabia, he led the team to victory with one shot and one pass, and against South Korea, he scored a "fairy ball" at an almost zero degree angle.
↑Chinese player Mutalip Iminkari (left) celebrates his opponent's own goal during the match.
Li Hao, a goalkeeper from Guangdong, has firmly held a position during this tournament and has been named to the tournament's best team several times. After the U20 Asian Cup, he will also go to Spain to join Atletico Madrid, becoming the second Chinese player officially signed by Atletico after Xu Xin.
The blade of the sword is sharpened, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold.
These big boys who have tasted the bitterness of defeat but are unwilling will undoubtedly become the hope and strength of the new generation of Chinese football, and the experience of the competition will also become a valuable asset on their growth path.
Has Chinese football found its way?
After the end of the U20 Asian Cup, the contract of head coach Antonio and the Chinese Football Association has ended. But what he learned about this team's legacy should not go with it.
I have to admit that Chinese football is currently at the second- and third-rate level in Asia, so how to create your own style of play under this premise and strive to compete with strong teams?
Antonio said in an interview: "My biggest experience is that as long as you find the direction and go right, if you work together, you will get good results." ”
↑ Chinese team players celebrate promotion after the game.
So, what is the right direction for Chinese football?
Antonio said that the first is the discipline off the field, "including physical reserves, nutritional intake in the diet, the attitude that every day of training is treated as if it were the last practice."
Secondly, on the court, under the premise of sufficient physical fitness as support, players must be disciplined, teamwork, and able to fight to defend the honor of the country and the honor of the team, so as to make up for the gap in individual ability and overall level.
Chinese players Hu Hetao (center) and Mutalif Iminkari (right) during a match on March 12. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Che Zhouyong)
It is precisely because of this that goal in the match with the South Korean team - when the South Korean goalkeeper passed the ball in the box, the U20 national football team had 5 players running wildly in front of the court, pressing and blocking the opponent's line of the ball, resulting in the goalkeeper's passing error being broken, which made Mutalif's performance.
Antonio said that in fact, Chinese players are capable and can play well. "China's goal should first be to compete in Asian-level competitions, and then slowly approach the best teams in Asia, and then get closer to the best in Asia." He said.
In fact, this is also the same as the current manager of the national football team, Jankovic, what he asks of the team. In his opinion, physical fitness and physical confrontation are the basic conditions for Chinese players to compete with world-class teams.
Will this sow a seed of hope for Chinese football in trouble?
Wait, time gives us the answer.
↑ Chinese team starters before the game.
[Reporter] Zhu Xiaolong
【Planning】Li Qiang, Ji Bei, Mai Xiaohua
【Author】 Zhu Xiaolong; LI Qiang; Mai Xiaohua
【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client