U17 World Cup expanded, but China’s men’s soccer team was out early.

　　BEIJING, Beijing, April 7 (Reporter Liu Xingchen) In the second round of the 2025 U17 men’s Asian Cup group match, which ended in the early morning of April 7, Beijing time, China U17 men’s soccer team lost to Uzbekistan U17 men’s soccer team 1-2 with an advanced goal, and suffered two consecutive defeats in the group match. At this point, China U17 men’s soccer team definitely missed the U17 World Cup in 2025.

　　In this tournament, China was divided into Group A together with the hosts Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Thailand. After the grouping was confirmed, Kenichi Uemura, head coach of China team, once said that every opponent is very strong and every game is a tough battle.

　　The U17 World Cup has been held once a year since this year, and the number of participating teams has also increased to 48. Asia has 8 seats (excluding the host country). There are 16 teams participating in this Asian Cup, and the top 8 teams will qualify for the U17 World Cup.

　　In the first match against the Saudi U17 men’s soccer team, the China team once took the initiative on the court through the oppressive play of high-position grabbing. However, an attack mistake by the goalkeeper Yihesan made the opponent take the lead in breaking the deadlock. In injury time in the first half, Saudi Arabia seized the opportunity of counterattack and Dagmar rewrote the score again. At the last moment of the game, Wei Xiangxin seized the opportunity to pull back a goal.

　　The offensive and defensive ends are out of line, which is a sentence mentioned in the rematch competition of Uemura Kenichi. After the game, Elinizar revealed that the physical reserve of the whole team was insufficient at the opponent’s highland home. "I can’t run in 70 minutes, and the first game is too tight."

　　After losing the first match, the match against Uzbekistan became a battle for China U17 men’s soccer team.

　　After the opening, the China team showed its fighting spirit, using defense to drive the attack and then taking the initiative on the field. In the 33 rd minute, Wei Xiangxin’s small angle shot was saved, and Zhang Chengrui found an opportunity at the back of the restricted area to make up the shot.

　　In the first half injury time, Hazanov equalized Uzbekistan’s score. The easy side will fight again, and the two teams will attack and defend each other. In the 86th minute, Aliyev’s header shot changed the score to 2:1, and China was reversed.

　　In this game, China’s possession rate is not dominant, and the competition for high penalty kicks is also at a disadvantage. Offensively, both teams have scored 13 shots, and the ability of China U17 men’s soccer team to seize opportunities is slightly inferior to that of their opponents.

　　In the two matches of the group match, China team had the problems of not keeping a close eye on people and not keeping a tight defensive line. After the game, Zhang Chengrui said that the goal conceded at the last moment of the first and second half had a certain relationship with the team’s physical decline, and the players were not focused enough. "After the physical decline, we didn’t have enough restrictions on the opponents’ center and frontcourt."

　　Talking about the lack of physical fitness of the players, Kenichi Uemura said frankly that this is related to the high-intensity confrontation of the competition. In the future, the number of high-intensity trainings will be increased, so that the players can experience more high-level competitions.

　　Many fans have high hopes for this U17 men’s soccer team.

　　Last year, in the U17 men’s Asian Cup qualifier, the team played well as a whole, and the game was very informative, and finally successfully advanced to the Asian Cup finals.

　　However, due to physical fitness and many factors, the China team failed to play the fine pass control at that time, and more often adopted the long pass, which failed to fully show its own characteristics, leaving a regret.

　　Considering the current group situation, China has missed the top eight. According to media statistics, China’s school-age teams have missed the U17 World Cup for 20 consecutive years (including the Junior World Cup, the predecessor of the tournament).

　　In the last match of the group stage, China, which is fighting for honor, will play against Thailand U17 men’s soccer team. The competition started at 01:15 on April 10th, Beijing time.