U23 near miss brings hope and lessons for Chinese soccer

Team China's gutsy run at the AFC U23 Asian Cup, which ended in a loss to Japan in the finals, has come as a timely morale booster for China's soccer reforms, and as a sobering reminder of the tasks that lie ahead.

Despite its confidence being at an all-time high and tactics fully honed after a history-making run to the final, the Chinese youth team still found its East Asian neighbor too tall an obstacle to overcome, as Japan overwhelmed it 4-0 in the gold-medal match at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.

Obviously dejected after missing out on the ultimate prize in their first-ever appearance at the final of the Asian youth tournament, China's U23 players still have every reason to be proud and will very likely return home to a hero's welcome.

Their inspiring campaign, despite the crushing but expected final outcome against continental powerhouse Japan, has lifted the whole nation's spirit, offering Chinese fans a rare reason to celebrate after years of watching and supporting the painfully underachieving senior national team.

Team China's performance in Jeddah marked the first time in 22 years that a Chinese men's side reached a continental soccer final after the senior squad was beaten by Japan in the 2004 Asian Cup final at Beijing's Workers' Stadium.

On Sunday, the General Administration of Sport of China sent a congratulatory letter, noting, "You have set a historic best for Chinese teams in this tournament."

The Saturday night final ended as one of the most-searched events on Chinese social media, with 20 of the top 50 trending topics on Weibo early on Sunday related to Team China's performance at the tournament.

Antonio Puche, Team China's Spanish head coach, acknowledged Japan's overall advantage, but praised his own players' performance with pride.

"Congratulations to the Japan team on winning the title. Their level is exceptionally high," Puche said at the post-match news conference.

"However, I'm very proud of my players. Losing naturally brings disappointment, but we have to put it in perspective. Japan are on a different level, yet we gave our best. My team fought until the very end."

Sticking to Puche's pragmatic defense-first tactics, Team China did not concede a single goal in regular time across five matches — three round-robin and two knockout fights — before the final, impressing as the only team in the tournament that kept a clean sheet en route to the final.

Goalkeeper Li Hao, who made 33 saves during the tournament, said the near-miss of the U23 title was a bitter setback that will only motivate the players to work harder.

"It was so regretful that we didn't make it despite the championship being within reach," said a disappointed Li after the match.

"We lost to a better opponent and there is no shame in it. We will go back to training and work harder to improve ourselves," said the 21-year-old, whose critical save in the penalty shootout helped China edge out Uzbekistan in the quarterfinal on Jan 17.

The U23 squad's breakout run comes as a much-needed consolation for Chinese fans who have been frustrated by the senior team's failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for six editions in a row, since its last and only appearance in the 2002 edition.

Since the senior team was eliminated from the Asian qualifiers in June for the 2026 edition, fans and pundits have been urging the sport's governing body and domestic league clubs to focus more on talent development at the youth level as a cure for the lack of competitiveness at the elite level.

The great showing by Japan, the top-ranked Asian program on FIFA rankings, has also raised concerns about the gap between the two countries in youth training.

"It's an acceptable loss, but it's important that we don't remain satisfied with this result," said Fan Zhiyi, captain of the former Chinese senior team, after the match.

"Only by working diligently on youth training and grassroots development, without any illusions about a 'quick-fix', and pushing ahead with long-term commitment can we eventually catch up with Asia's best," said Fan, who was a formidable member on China's 2002 World Cup qualifying roster.