Can Chinese football turn things around? The new national team roster has given us a glimmer of hope, but it also makes us hold our breath. Will the seemingly positive changes such as youthification, naturalized players, and contributions and adjustments from clubs really shake the deeply rooted problems in Chinese football? Looking beyond the excitement on paper, is the future of Chinese football really here? The name of Ivanković has been frequently mentioned in the domestic football circle recently. After taking office as the head coach of the national team, he launched a radical reform, the most obvious action being the promotion of team youthification. This time, the average age of the newly announced national team list dropped to 26.7 years old, much younger than the previous "35+ veterans class." At first glance, this is indeed a positive signal. In the past, we always said that when the national team played, the average age of the players was high enough to be like playing a retirement ceremony. But this time, many post-95s and even post-00s young players have been promoted to the national team. They have good physical fitness and strong impact, and can keep up with the fast-paced international competitions. But then again, youthification does not equal achievement. Young people have energy, but lack experience in major events, which may become a shortcoming in events like the Asian Cup. Imagine, when the opponent presents a mature tactical system and experienced players, can these young players stabilize their positions? Ivan's youth strategy is a gamble, and the results may not…

The U20 Asian Cup will kick off in Shenzhen from February 13 to March 1, 2025. The top four teams of this Asian Cup will secure spots for the U20 World Cup. To prepare for this U20 Asian Cup, the team will start training on January 6 and will play seven warm-up matches in Shenzhen and Thailand against teams such as Uzbekistan, Syria, and Thailand who are also participating in the U20 tournament. There are 28 players on the training roster, but due to restrictions on the final number of participants, some players will be eliminated. According to Ma Dexing's report in "Ti Tan Zhou Bao": The 28 players in this training (including those playing overseas) are all outstanding performers recently. The competition is fierce to participate in the U20 Asian Cup finals. The next seven warm-up matches will be the ultimate test for the whole team and players at each position. Only by showing better competitive form than other players at the same position can they join the team for the U20 Asian Cup and even the U20 World Cup. Three overseas players are as follows: Mallorca, Spain: Du Yuezheng Ospitalet, Spain: Yang Xi Rochefort Union, Belgium: Chen Shihan Goalkeepers: Liu Qiwei, Yao Haoyang, Yuan Jianrui Defenders: He Yiran, Yang Xi, Shi Songchen, Fan Shuangjie, Qi Qiancheng, Peng Xiao, Yu Tianle, Xu Junchi, Aizimaiti Kaisaer Midfielders: Bai Yutao, Wang Yudong, Wang Yifan, Xiong Jizheng, Kuai Jiwen, Chen Shihan, Mao Weijie, Tang Tianyi, Wang Haobin, Yimulan Maimaiti, Zhang Zhibear, Chen Zeshi, Huang Ming Forwards: Zhu Pengyu, Liu Chengyu, Du Yuezheng…

Introduction The rising football star Lee Kang-in made headlines for punching Son Heung-min before a match, causing an injury, and his private life has been filled with controversial dates with a South Korean actress known for her bullying past, all reflecting a bold and fearless youthful vigor. Why did he choose to act this way? Lee Kang-in's Conflict with Son Heung-min "The success of one general is built upon the bones of ten thousand," aptly describes the conflict between Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min. The 2024 Asian Cup was supposed to be a stage for South Korea's men's football team to showcase their prowess, but it turned into a farce due to an internal feud. It all started on the eve of the semi-finals. After a team-building dinner, several young players led by Lee Kang-in rushed to the ping-pong room, leaving a mess behind. As captain, Son Heung-min disapproved of this behavior, believing that young players should prioritize team spirit over ping-pong. With a sense of responsibility, Son Heung-min tried to dissuade them, but the headstrong Lee Kang-in didn't back down. The dispute escalated into a physical altercation, with eyewitnesses claiming that Son Heung-min grabbed Lee Kang-in's collar first, only to receive a punch in return. Although Son managed to dodge the blow, he still suffered injuries to his knee and fingers. News of the incident sent shockwaves through South Korea's football community, as Son Heung-min is the country's top footballer, while Lee Kang-in is a promising newcomer. The conflict exposed generational gaps within the team. After the event, the…

As we step into 2025, the various national teams of Chinese men's football are fully prepared to launch a comprehensive offensive on the field, with a series of major competitions coming one after another. The national team is about to engage in the fierce 18-strong competition, while the Olympic team will strive in the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, the youth team aims for outstanding achievements in the U20 Asian Cup finals, and the junior team is also striving to showcase their style in the U17 Asian Cup finals. In addition, the subsequent reserve teams are actively preparing to take over, including the U18 national youth (07 age group) and U16 national junior (09 age group). It is worth noting that the U18 national youth team will become the eligible team to participate in the 2027 U20 Asian Cup, however, the qualifiers are scheduled for September 2026, which makes it difficult for the current age group of the national youth team to officially form. Given this, at present, training camps or selection camps can only be organized under the names of "training camp" or "selection camp." At the same time, the head coach has not been determined yet, and the 44-year-old Zheng Zhi has become the hottest candidate for the head coach. Half a month ago, the Football Association successfully held the second phase of the 2007 age group elite player training camp this year at the beautiful Hainan Mission Hills Training Base in Haikou. In this training camp, most of the players are expected to become the backbone of the…

It is well-known that since the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, the Chinese national football team has not been able to qualify for this stage again. The main reason for this result is the lack of reserve talents, which means that the youth training in the past 20 years has not been good enough to cultivate batches of talents to serve the national team. Since 2002, the Chinese national team has not qualified for the World Cup, and our national youth team has not made it to the World Youth Championship since 2005. It is even harder for the youth teams to compete when they cannot defeat opponents at the youth level, let alone at the senior level. Therefore, only when our national youth and junior teams become stronger will the national team have a more promising future. In February of next year, a new edition of the U20 Asian Cup (Asian Youth Championship) will take place, with the U20 national team (national youth team) playing at home. For this edition of the Asian Youth Championship, the national youth team has set a clear goal: to strive to return to the World Youth Championship stage after 20 years. In addition to the home advantage in next year's competition, the group draw for the national youth team is also relatively favorable. In Group A, the other three teams are Australia, Kyrgyzstan, and Qatar. According to the rule that the top two teams from each group advance, as long as the national youth team performs normally, there should…

With the approach of the 2025 Asian Table Tennis Championships, the eagerly anticipated list of invited athletes has finally been revealed. The national table tennis team (Guoping) has a total of 12 athletes on the list, including Olympic champions Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng, who have not been seen in competition for some time. According to the event schedule, this grand table tennis event will be held passionately in Shenzhen next February, but at this moment, the national table tennis coaching staff is facing an unprecedented selection dilemma. The list has been announced, and the luxurious lineup of the national table tennis team is impressive. On the women's side, three powerful players, Wang Yidi, Sun Yingsha, and Wang Manyu, join forces with Chen Meng, Chen Xintong, and Qian Tianyi to form the six golden flowers. The men's team is also star-studded, with Lin Shidong, Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun, Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, and Lin Gaoyuan ready to compete. However, this is only the invitation list, and the actual participation list still needs to be confirmed by each association before February 17th. This means that the names on the list are not set in stone, and there is still room for adjustment by each association. Looking back at the previous Asian Cup, the selection controversy once put the national table tennis team in an awkward position. According to the rules, each association can only send two individuals or pairs to participate in each event. On the women's side, the 2019 Asian Cup women's singles champion Zhu Yuling and world No. 1…

The invited list for the International Table Tennis Federation Asian Cup has been released, with a total of 12 Chinese players, six each, successfully entering the list. However, there is still a big question mark as to whether these 12 players can participate fully. For example, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong from the men's team, and Chen Meng from the women's team, have hardly participated in any formal international or continental championships since the Paris Olympics, with only Ma Long playing in the Beijing Grand Slam. Therefore, it remains uncertain whether these three will participate, especially since the Asian Cup does not hold much appeal for these Olympic singles champions. If they do participate, can China maintain its full quota of 12 spots? According to the replacement rules of the ITTF Asian Cup, we can definitely secure 12 spots, with two safeguards in place. The first safeguard is that if the host country's player withdraws, the host country can designate another player to replace them. In other words, if our three players withdraw, we can use our own national table tennis players to fill in. Even if there is a risk that two players from the men's team, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, might withdraw, we can still use another rule to have our national table tennis players step in. According to the regulations, if other invited players participate, there should be a player not on this list who ranks highest to take their place. Xiang Peng from the men's team is ranked 24th in the world and should theoretically…