Chinese football has once again fallen into a cold winter, and the tragic record of the Chinese U23 men's football team in the group stage of the Asian Cup is like a cold sharp knife, stabbing the hearts of countless fans. After losing 0-1 to Japan, the team suffered another heavy blow, losing to archrival South Korea with a score of 0-2, swallowing two consecutive defeats, completely announcing the abrupt end of the Asian Cup journey. This series of defeats not only marked the team's dismal exit in the group stage, but also broke three shameful records in the history of Chinese football, revealing the deep-seated crisis facing Chinese football at present.
Seven consecutive defeats in the Asian Cup: Worst record in history
With the defeat against South Korea, the Chinese U23 men's football team's losing streak in the Asian Cup extended to seven games, setting a record for the longest losing streak in the history of Chinese football in the Asian Cup. Since 2018, the Chinese youth army has never been able to break the invincible curse on the Asian Cup stage, and the continued sluggish performance is a big surprise. This embarrassing record not only reflects the serious decline in the team's competitive state, but also reflects the serious shortcomings of China's football youth training system in cultivating young talents.
Missed the knockout round for four consecutive years: the talent gap is highlighted
The exit from the group stage of the Asian Cup is the fourth consecutive time that the Chinese U23 men's football team has failed to break into the knockout stage in this event. This means that since 2014, an entire generation of young Chinese football talents has not been able to emerge in Asia's highest-level youth competitions, and the gap between them and Asia's top teams is widening. Such a situation undoubtedly exposes the serious fault lines in Chinese football in terms of talent training, echelon construction and improvement of competitive level, and casts a heavy shadow on the development prospects of the national team in the future.
Facing the double defeat of Japan and South Korea: the psychological defense line collapsed
In the two key battles of the group stage of the Asian Cup, the Chinese U23 men's football team suffered a double blow from Japan and South Korea. In the first game against Japan, the team lost due to defensive negligence and lack of ability to grasp opportunities in front of goal while occupying a certain advantage. In the second match against South Korea, the team was at a loss at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and finally suffered a 0-2 defeat. The defeat of two key games in a row not only made the team out of the tournament early, but also dealt a heavy blow to the young players on the psychological level. The sense of powerlessness in the face of traditional Asian powerhouses reflects the overall backwardness of Chinese football in terms of technology, tactics and psychological quality, and it is urgent to deeply reflect and systematically reform.
Fans' expectations were disappointed, and the World Cup dream was gradually flickering away
The poor record of the Asian Cup has undoubtedly disappointed the Chinese fans who are looking forward to it. originally expected this youth army, which carries the hope of the future of Chinese football, to make a breakthrough in the competition and rebuild confidence, but now they can only witness them fall into a trough and break the shameful record again and again. This huge psychological gap has further exacerbated fans' pessimism about the future of Chinese football. With only a few years left before the next World Cup qualifiers, the sluggish performance of the Chinese U23 men's football team has undoubtedly made the World Cup dream more and more distant, adding many obstacles to the revitalization of Chinese football.
Summary and reflection: learn from the pain and seek change
In the face of such a bleak reality, Chinese football must learn from the pain, deeply reflect and start to carry out systemic reforms. The first task is to re-examine and reform the youth training system, learn from the successful experience of advanced countries, and create a scientific and perfect youth football training mechanism to ensure a continuous flow of talents. At the same time, the professional quality of the national team coaching team at all levels will be improved, and advanced tactical concepts and training methods will be introduced to comprehensively improve the overall strength of the team.
In addition, psychological construction should not be neglected. When playing against Asian powerhouses, young players need to develop the right game mentality, strengthen their ability to withstand pressure, and learn to remain calm and resilient in the face of adversity. Strengthening international exchanges and cooperation, training the team through high-level competitions, and improving the players' competition experience and adaptability are also important ways to enhance the competitiveness of the national team.
All sectors of society should give more patience and support to Chinese football, understanding that reform will not happen overnight, but will take time and process. Only by working together and strengthening our beliefs can we jointly promote Chinese football out of the trough and gradually move towards the road of rejuvenation. Despite the grim current situation, as long as we face up to the problems and have the courage to change, there is still hope for Chinese football to regain its dignity and glory on the future Asian and even world stage.