On the afternoon of January 26, the U23 national football team arrived at Beijing Daxing Airport after completing their U23 Asian Cup journey. Although they lost to the Japanese team 0:4 in the final, a large number of fans spontaneously came to Daxing Airport to pick them up and shouted cheers throughout the process.
If the runner-up in the U23 Asian Cup has rekindled the confidence of fans, then the rectification of the “fake gambling” problem in the football industry is to eliminate the chaos in the industry. If Chinese football wants to return to the top level in Asia, it needs convincing results and a fair and clean playing environment.
▲On January 26, a large number of fans welcomed the team back at the airport. Xinhua News Agency
Chinese team player Kuai Jiwen (front) hugs fans. Xinhua News Agency
a cold mirror
See how long the path of pursuit is
For the U23 national football team, this trip to the U23 Asian Cup is like an unexpected climb from “completing the mission” to “touching the ceiling”. As a team that was placed in the fourth tier before the game, their starting point was just to “fight to qualify from the group.” In the same group as Iraq, Australia, and Thailand, almost no one is optimistic that this group of young people can break through.
However, not only did they advance steadily with an undefeated record of 1 win and 2 draws, they also made history in the subsequent knockout rounds: defeating Uzbekistan on penalty kicks, defeating Vietnam with 3 goals, and finally reaching the final stage. Head coach Antonio said at the press conference before the final: “We have come very far, but we still want to see the final scenery.”
At the end of the scenery is the powerful Japanese team. What was presented in the final was a dimensionality reduction attack on “football cognition”. The U23 national football team is like a family car that is accelerating hard, but the Japanese team, with an average age of only 20.1 years old, is a super sports car with smooth shifting. The score of 0:4 stripped away all illusions and exposed the real gaps in skills and tactics, game rhythm and individual abilities.
“The Japanese team is different from all the teams we have encountered before,” midfielder Li Zhenquan said frankly after the game. “There is a huge gap between us in terms of game control, rhythm and personal ability.” This defeat, like a cold mirror, reflected the scenery at the top of Asia and also reflected the long path to catch up.
The runner-up position at least proves one thing: when the tactics are pragmatic, the defense is tenacious, and the mentality is correct, Chinese football is far from being slaughtered in the Asian arena. This may be better than an unexpected victory, injecting a stable confidence into the long reconstruction.
Football population base expands
There are nearly 110,000 registered youth players
Most of the players in this U23 national football team were born between 2003 and 2006. In 2015, when the “Comprehensive Plan for the Reform and Development of Chinese Football” was promulgated, many of them, like Wang Yudong and Baihe Lamu, had just completed registration at sports schools or club youth training camps, harboring the most primitive football dreams.
Ten years of reform, the traces are reflected in the numbers. As of 2025, the number of registered youth players nationwide has reached 109,200, an increase of 24.88% from two years ago. Football youth training is not a face-saving project that is eager for quick success. Only by concentrating on continuing to expand the football population base, allowing more children to enter the stadium, more grassroots coaches to obtain qualifications, and a more systematic youth training network to be gradually woven can the base of the pyramid of Chinese football be built.
However, the comparison on the other side of the numbers is harsh. Our nearest neighbor, Japan, has more than seven times the number of registered youth players as we do. This arithmetic problem is simple but cruel: the huge gap in football population base is the most fundamental footnote of the 4-goal gap in the final. There are no shortcuts in competitive sports. The height of the tower always depends on the width of the tower base.
The hope lies in the slow reshaping of ecology. On the one hand, the professional league is exploring the function of becoming a national “training ground” in the throes of pain; on the other hand, the popularity of private competitions such as the “Soviet Super League” is cultivating football culture from the soil of society. The dual-track drive of “professional leagues + private events” is the slightly staggering but clear-directed gait that Chinese football relies on when trying to climb out of the trough. Only when leagues at all levels, youth training and national teams resonate at the same frequency can we inject a steady stream of impetus into the development of Chinese football.
Reporter observation
If Chinese football wants to rise, it needs to cultivate new seedlings, and Bo also needs to weed weeds.
Although the U23 Asian Cup finals lost by 4 goals, considering that the U23 national football team has achieved a breakthrough beyond expectations, social media showed a different kind of gentleness and rationality to the result of losing 0:4 in the finals. This is also one of the huge wealth this team has brought to the entire Chinese football.
In fact, Chinese football has always had a poor reputation, and it is often even an outlet for the negative emotions of the public. Therefore, Chinese football urgently needs impressive results to reverse its image. From this perspective, the U23 national football team’s second place at least brought a relatively relaxed public opinion environment to Chinese football, which is indeed conducive to the restart of Chinese football.
While the U23 national football team is achieving good results, the management department is also liquidating historical shortcomings. Yesterday, the Chinese Football Association announced a list of 73 people with “lifetime bans”. Counting the 43 people announced a year and a half ago, the number of football practitioners who have been “terminated” has reached 116. This list can show the revolutionary determination of Chinese football – before trying to build tall buildings again, the rotten foundation must be completely cleared.
The value of second place is that it proves the energy that concentration and unity can generate on the right track. The “lifetime ban” ticket is a belated but necessary cure. Football is a complex ecosystem, related to the soil of youth training, the health of the league, the clarity of management, the cultivation of culture, etc., and is ultimately reflected in the national team’s report card.
If Chinese football wants to rise, it must not only cultivate new seedlings, but also weed weeds. For Chinese football, cleaning up cancer is as important as achieving good results.
Interview and writing: New Express reporter Wang Di
