Long road ahead for China after under-23s flop
World’s most populous nation is banking its footballing future on youth development
China is banking its footballing future on youth development and the world’s most populous nation has plenty to do if their performance at the AFC Under-23 Championship over the last week is anything to go by.
Coached by Massimiliano Maddaloni and with a handful of full internationals in the squad, China slumped out of the tournament before the knockout stages after a 2-1 loss to Qatar in Changzhou, Jiangsu province on Monday.
It means another continental youth competition will pass without a Chinese team making a significant impact, a further sign the road to the upper reaches of Asian football, let alone the global game, remains long and difficult.
Italian Maddaloni’s irritation was clear after seeing his side, reduced to 10 men for much of the game, fail to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
“I do not want to discuss any details about this match,” he said after the defeat.
“We think that all the players tried their best and that they tried to win this match. I am very proud to be their coach.” In a must-win game, Yao Junsheng gave China an early lead only for captain He Chao’s sending off to turn the tide in Qatar’s favour, with Almoez Ali scoring twice to condemn the Chinese to third place in their group behind the Qataris and Uzbekistan.
National team boss Marcello Lippi had talked up the prospects of China’s young players going into the tournament after including six of Maddaloni’s side in the squad he took to the East Asian Championship in Japan last month.
And while there were positives to be taken from the latest failure, notably the growing talent of winger Wei Shihao and the tactical understanding Maddaloni has instilled in his team, China still lag behind Asia’s best when it comes to youth development.
Uzbekistan are regular qualifiers at Fifa’s age group tournaments.
Serial World Cup qualifiers Japan and South Korea also consistently advance to the under-17 and under-20 World Cups as well as the finals of the Olympic Games.