Recently, the matches of China's national men's football teams at all levels have been surging, which has aroused the attention of the majority of fans. The national team preparing for the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers, the national Olympic team that played the domestic warm-up match, and the 08-year-old national junior team that went to Japan for training all staged a shocking show. In particular, a few days ago, the 08 national junior team defeated the Osaka Sakura West School U15 team 3-2 away in Japan, and won the first victory in the four warm-up games, which injected a shot of strength into Chinese football and resolved the embarrassment of the previous 0-1 home defeat of the national Olympic team to the Malaysian Olympic team.
Although the victory of the 08 national junior team is small, it contains hope for the future of Chinese football. Because this group of players will be the backbone of the Chinese men's football team in the next 10 years. The poor performance in the previous games also provided valuable inspiration for the coaching staff, who need to make adjustments in terms of tactical play and team coordination to better develop the potential of the players.
Looking back at the 4 warm-up matches of the 08 national junior team in Japan, the first game was 0-1 to the U16 team of Momoyama University, the second game was 0-4 by the U16 team of Xingguo University, and the third game was a 1-1 draw with the U16 team of the main society, which shows that the performance of the national junior team is not ideal. The team struggled to cope with the Japanese team's high-intensity pressing, detailed short passes and decisive breakthroughs. This is related to the long-term focus on physical training in Chinese football, and less emphasis on technical and awareness training.
In the game against the Osaka Sakura West School U15 team, the national junior team finally pressed the "counterattack button". In the game, Du Junhao, a defender from Shandong Taishan echelon, scored a key goal, fully demonstrating the defender's knife awareness. The victory was a huge morale boost and confidence for next year's AFC U16 Championship.
Of course, a win in a warm-up match is not enough. The talent and potential of these players still need to be further explored, and there is still a long way to go to truly become the pillars of the national football team. In terms of tactical play, player cooperation and adaptability, the 08 national junior team still has a lot of room for improvement. Making the most of your 10 days of training in Japan and absorbing the essence of Japanese football is the key to this training.
Compared with the small buds of the national junior team, the recent performance of the national Olympic team has been disappointing. In the warm-up match against the Malaysian Olympic team at the end of November, the national Olympic team was defeated 0-1 at home by the opponent. After the game, many fans were disappointed, believing that this was a sign of the decline in the strength of Chinese football.
Indeed, this defeat has exposed the problems of the national Olympic team to a certain extent. In recent years, the competitiveness of Chinese football in Asia has declined significantly, not only in the face of repeated defeats in the face of strong teams in Japan and South Korea, but also in the duel with Southeast Asian teams. To some extent, this shows that the training and selection mechanism of the Chinese men's football team needs to be reformed urgently.
At the same time, it cannot be denied that the strength of the Malaysian national team has improved. In September this year, they drew 1-1 with the Chinese national team. The rapid development of Malaysian football is also a wake-up call for us – as a strong team in Asia, China must maintain a humble and diligent mentality, and always be ready to meet new challenges.
Although the Olympic team's defeat to Malaysia was a bit of a surprise, it should not be too pessimistic. After all, this is just a warm-up match, and the real test is still in the future Asian Games and the Olympic Games. We need to give the young players enough time to develop and the coaching staff to try new tactics. As long as the training is unremitting and the Football Association continues to improve the youth training system, it is not difficult for the national Olympic team to return to the top in Asia.
The victory of the 08 national junior team ignites hope for us, and let us continue to believe that the future of Chinese football will be better. In the new year, let us look forward to the good results of the national football teams and work together to realize the dream of the World Cup for Chinese fans!