The year 2025 is of great significance for Chinese football. Besides the national team's final preparations for the 2026 World Cup, both the U20 and U17 national youth teams will participate in their respective age-group Asian Cups, striving for better results and qualifications for the World Youth Championships. Currently, under the leadership of Ivan, the national team has concluded its first training camp of the year. After disbanding in Haikou, the players will return to their respective clubs to prepare for the new season, while Ivan will return to Beijing to summarize this training session.
The U20 national youth team is currently training in Thailand, preparing for the upcoming U20 Asian Cup to be held in Shenzhen. As only reaching the semi-finals guarantees qualification for the U20 World Cup, this poses a significant challenge for the national team. However, being able to enter the final stage of the Asian Cup represents progress for Chinese football, which has struggled to even reach the finals of lower-age group Asian Cups for a long time. This training in Thailand also serves as the final preparation before the official competition.
During their training in Thailand, the U20 national youth team plans to play four warm-up matches, the first of which is against K League powerhouse Jeonbuk Hyundai. Jeonbuk Hyundai is also preparing for the new K League season, so they attach great importance to this match against the national youth team and have fielded their first-team squad. The main purpose is to evaluate players, so almost all Jeonbuk Hyundai players, including their main players, have participated. Due to the opponent's first-team lineup, we faced a significant gap in strength, with Jeonbuk Hyundai taking the lead in the first half and extending it to 2-0 by the 55th minute of the second half. Zhang Zhixiong scored a free-kick goal for the national youth team in the 65th minute, helping China pull one back. Jeonbuk Hyundai then scored two more goals, resulting in our 1-4 loss.
This outcome is quite acceptable and even somewhat surprising to fans. Just a few seasons ago, China's U20 national youth team competed in the China League Two, with a level comparable to that of a relegation-threatened team. The current national youth team can hold their own against a K League powerhouse with a 1-4 scoreline, indicating that they have reached the level of the China League One. This is why some fans believe this result is actually very acceptable, and we are more optimistic about the prospects of this U20 Asian Cup.
The national youth team still has three more warm-up matches in Thailand, against opponents such as the Thailand U20 national youth team, Yonsei University from South Korea, and Bangkok United U23 from Thailand. This match against a national-level opponent of the same age group is a key test and the most representative of the team's capabilities. Previously, in the Panda Cup, the national youth team played evenly against the Australian national youth team, so there is really something to look forward to in this U20 Asian Cup.