Youthful Wave! National Team "Three-Level Linkage": U21 Players "Rising from Below"

Journalist Chen Yong reports Despite some countries opting for the U21 national team to compete in the Nagoya Asian Games football tournament this September, China still chose to send the U23 national team. This is because the national team, the U23 national team, and the soon-to-be-formed U21 national team (the Olympic team) have established a linkage: among the 26-player national team roster, 10 are U23 players, accounting for over one-third, including 4 U21 players; the U23 national team called up 25 players, among whom U21 players numbered as high as 17. This three-level linkage reflects the new approach of the Chinese Football Association towards integrated development of national team squads.

The U21 national team, i.e., the Olympic team, has not yet been formally established. However, within the national team and the U23 national team, U21 players total 21 individuals—4 in the national team and 17 in the U23 national team. Among the total 53 players called up or additionally recruited for both teams, U21 players make up 39.6%. These U21 players are nearly equivalent to a full U21 national team squad—during last year's U23 Asian Cup, the Chinese team's young players made gestures symbolizing "rising from below." Now, U21 players are beginning to surpass levels and occupy positions in the national team and U23 national team.

During this national team training camp, 9 U23 players were initially called up: Yang Xi, Wu Miti Jiang, Liu Hao Fan, Hu Hetao, Xu Bin, Kuai Ji Wen, Liu Cheng Yu, Bai He Lamu, and Wang Yu Dong. Subsequently, Li Zhen Quan was additionally recruited from the U23 national team. U23 players account for over one-third of the roster, with 4 being U21 players from the 2005 age group or later: Yang Xi, Kuai Ji Wen, Liu Cheng Yu, and Wang Yu Dong.

After nearly a starting lineup was called up to the national team, the U23 national team also recruited U23 players like Zhang Ying Kai, but primarily supplemented with U21 players, including returning injured players Shi Song Chen and Yi Mu Lan. This U23 national team, which will soon compete in the Xi'an Four Nations Tournament, initially called up 25 players, among whom 16 were U21 players: Liu Qi Wei, Yao Hao Yang, Yuan Jian Rui, Peng Xiao, Shi Song Chen, Zhang Ai Hui, He Yi Ran, Xuan Zhi Jian, Yang Hao Yu, Chen Ze Shi, Wei Zi Xian, Wang Bo Hao, Yi Mu Lan, Mao Wei Jie, Li Xin Xiang, and Zhu Peng Yu. After Li Zhen Quan was called up to the national team, the U23 national team additionally recruited U21 player Du Yue Zheng, ultimately bringing the number of U21 players to 17.

Comparing with the 23-player roster for the early 2025 U20 Asian Cup, players not selected for the national team or U23 national team include Wang Yi Fan, Wang Hao Bin, Qi Qian Cheng, Xu Jun Chi, Xiong Ji Zheng, Zhang Zhi Xiong, Chen Shi Han, and Sun Kang Bo. It is hoped these players continue to strive and become core forces for the future Olympic team. Additionally, some other players warrant attention, such as Tang Rui, loaned from Shandong Taishan to Wuxi Wu Gou, who scored in the first round of China League One helping his team defeat Foshan South Lions 2-0, and contributed 2 goals and 2 assists in the second round leading to a 4-0 victory over Shenzhen Youngsters. His performance is outstanding; he developed from Shandong Taishan's B team and gained solid experience in China League Two.

For U23 national team head coach Antonio, this move serves two purposes: one is to find suitable substitutes for the U23 national team, and the other is to comprehensively assess U21 players, as he is likely to become the head coach of the future Olympic team.

From the perspective of preparing for the Olympics, this year's Asian Games would ideally be contested by the U21 national team. This would allow outstanding U23 national team players to join the national team without burden, and the U21 national team could begin early preparations for the 2028 U23 Asian Cup and the 2028 Olympic qualifiers. However, from the standpoint of stability in Chinese football, after the U23 national team achieved satisfactory results in the U23 Asian Cup, continuing to push for good performance in the Asian Games can better bolster confidence across all national team levels.

Thus, the structure of the U23 national team remains, but the selection focus leans toward U21 players. During the March international match window, based on the need for team rejuvenation, as many as 10 U23 players were called up to the national team, giving the U23 national team greater selection scope, which naturally provides more opportunities for U21 players.

According to the original plan, after coaching the U23 national team, Antonio will continue to coach the U21 national team for the 2005 age group. Clearly, apart from a few U23 players, his assessment targets naturally concentrate on U21 players. This is the optimal choice both from the perspective of the Chinese Football Association's grand national team development and from his personal standpoint.

In this Xi'an Four Nations Tournament, the focus on the U23 national team mainly lies in two aspects: regarding personnel, we need to observe Antonio's utilization of Zhu Peng Yu, Mao Wei Jie, and Yi Mu Lan, as these three players seem less aligned with his tactical system and the resulting selection criteria. Particularly Mao Wei Jie, who had minimal opportunity during the U23 Asian Cup, and Yi Mu Lan, a linking organizational midfielder—how to effectively employ him is also noteworthy.

Secondly, regarding tactics, which closely relates to personnel usage. Amid a major overhaul of the U23 national team, whether Antonio persists with the original tactical system to seek suitable substitutes or uses this opportunity to experiment with more midfield transitions and ground-based progression to enhance comprehensive combat capability is also highly值得关注.