Reporter Lu Mi reports On February 12, the U20 Asian Cup will open in Shenzhen, and the Chinese U20 national youth team coached by Djurdjevic will launch an all-out attack on the U20 World Cup. A total of 16 teams will participate in this year's U20 Asian Cup, and only the teams that make it to the semi-finals will qualify for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile. Since 2005, the Chinese national youth team has not been able to reach the U20 World Cup for 20 years, and this time they have a clear goal and are full of energy, hoping to use home advantage to try to qualify.

Since its formation, the U20 national youth team has maintained its form through high-level warm-up matches. Last November's Panda Cup brought Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Australia to the tournament. Although core players such as Wang Yudong, Liu Chengyu, and Kuai Jiwen were unable to participate in the competition due to the competition tasks of the "Three Ball Games", Djurdjevic still showed the team's combat effectiveness through the adjustment of formation and tactics. In particular, the matches against Australia and Kyrgyzstan, opponents in the group stage of the U20 Asian Cup, gave the players valuable confidence.

In preparation for the U20 Asian Cup, the team has started overseas training since January this year, during which seven warm-up matches were played, including Shenzhen 2028, Jeonbuk Hyundai, Thailand U20, Yonsei University of South Korea, Bangkok United U23, Uzbekistan U20 and Syria U20. 7 matches have resulted in 4 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. Through the warm-up of a team with a similar style to their opponents in the group stage, the U20 national youth team has fully adapted to the rhythm of the game, and the preparation work is very thorough, and the team is unprecedentedly united, aiming for the U20 World Cup.

After more than a month of intensive training, Djurdjevic has determined the basic lineup and tactical play of the U20 national youth team for the Asian Cup. In the three matches of the "Panda Cup", he used the 4231 and 5 back formations. Through the test of the warm-up match, the team finally decided on the formation of 442 and 433. Djurdjevic said: "I want to keep the pressure high and control the tempo of the game. At the same time, we also need to be flexible in our formation according to the opponent's situation, and use a back five to counter-attack when necessary. ”

On February 8, the Chinese Football Association announced the 23-member squad of the Chinese team in the U20 Asian Cup, and 7 people from Shandong Taishan Club were selected, and three foreign players Du Yuezheng, Chen Shihan and Sun Kangbo were also listed. As the host, China's U20 national youth team is in Pot 1 and is in Group A with Australia, Kyrgyzstan and Qatar. From the perspective of comprehensive strength, the competition in this group is relatively balanced. As Australia and Kyrgyzstan have played each other in the Panda Cup, the first game against Qatar will be a crucial match in the group stage, and the Under-20 national youth team must try to get off to a good start.

As the first major competition of Chinese football of the year, the Chinese Football Association attaches great importance to the U20 Asian Cup. Song Kai, chairman of the Chinese Football Association, has arrived in Shenzhen, Xu Jiren, vice chairman in charge of the national brand, will arrive today, and Zhang Jiasheng, secretary of the party committee of the Chinese Football Association, will also supervise the battle according to the work arrangement. The support of the Chinese Football Association is not only reflected in the high-level supervision, but also from the bid for this U20 Asian Cup. With the advantage of being at home, the U20 national youth team can attack the U20 World Cup without distraction.

Djurdjevic said: "The Chinese team has not been able to enter the U20 World Cup for 20 years. We have to take it one step at a time, believing that we are getting closer and closer to the goal. Football is brutal and we have to be more aggressive than our opponents to defend our home stadium in the Asian Cup. ”

It is worth mentioning that this year's Under-20 national youth team is also an Olympic-age team, so the preparation for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games has actually started with this tournament. Moreover, the head coach of the national team, Ivankovic, will also go to Shenzhen to watch the game and inspect the players, the youth of the national football team continues, and the outstanding national youth players are expected to be selected for the national team and participate in the top 18.

Regardless of the outcome, the Under-20 team has shown a fighting spirit and is expected to inject new hope into the future of Chinese football.