The U22 national football team won the Yancheng Four Nations Championship, and the team still needs to further run-in

Reporter Chen Yong reports When the national football team played the round of 18, the U22 national football team played the last game in the Yancheng Four Nations Tournament, and with the penalty kick of Eiffelding, they drew 1-1 with the Vietnam U22 men's football team, and won the championship with a record of 1 win and 2 draws. In this invitational tournament, the U22 national football team performed well, especially the 1-0 defeat of South Korea in the last round. With the arrival of the Under-20 players, the team is more energetic and dynamic, but there is still a need for further development.

In this Yancheng Four Nations Tournament, the first two games of the U22 national football team were dominated by U22 players, the first game against Uzbekistan U22, the starters were all U22 players, but the U20 players performed well after coming off the bench, and the news was eye-catching; In the subsequent Sino-Korean war, the U22 national football team adjusted the positions of central defender and midfielder, two U20 players Peng Xiao and Chen Zeshi started the game, and the others were still U22 players.

In the game against Vietnam, Antonio sent a mixed lineup: goalkeeper Jin Yong, defenders Xiang Rongjun, Peng Xiao, Zhang Yixuan and Yang Xi, midfielders Yi Mulan and Wei Zhiwei, frontcourt Wang Yifan, Kuai Jiwen and Mao Weijie, forward Eiffelding, of which Yang Xi, Peng Xiao, Yi Mulan, Wang Yifan, Kuai Jiwen and Mao Weijie are U20 players, and in the standard mixed lineup, they occupy more midfield positions.

In this game, the overall performance of the U22 national football team was generally lower than the previous two games, Vietnam scored first in the 31st minute, and the U22 national football team scored a penalty in the 68th minute by Mutalifu, and Eiffelding hit the penalty. In the 73rd minute, Zhang Yixuan was sent off for two yellows and one red, but the U22 national football team finally held on to the draw.

In the Yancheng Four Nations Tournament, the U22 national football team won the championship with 1 win and 2 draws, of which the 1-0 victory over the South Korean team was very crucial, the South Korean team ranked second with 1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss and 1 point, the Vietnamese team ranked third with 3 games and 3 draws, and Uzi ranked at the bottom with 2 draws and 1 loss. No matter from the point of view of the result or the process, the gap between the strength of the four teams participating in the four-nation tournament is not large, and although the U22 national football team finally won the cup, it has no obvious advantage.

The U22 national football team will officially form a team in 2024 and conduct 4 training camps, of which the 4th phase will be officially changed to the national team sequence. This is the first training camp in 2025, and it is also the official addition of U20 players, there are 9 U20 players in the list, they are He Yiran, Peng Xiao, Yang Xi, Yi Mulan, Chen Zeshi, Kuai Jiwen, Wang Yifan, Mao Weijie and Yang Haoyu.

As far as the game is concerned, the attacking players in the U20 age group have shown more of their individual abilities, and there are also eye-catching performances: for example, Kuai Jiwen's breakthrough ability, for 3 consecutive games, his performance is quite eye-catching in the team; For example, Peng Xiao's header ability, he used a corner kick header to hit the goal frame to help Liu Haofan score, beating South Korea 1-0.

In comparison, there is no big problem in the defender position, Peng Xiao was a member of the 03 national youth team before, as for the offensive players, they mainly show their personal ability, of course, they also need to strengthen the run-in, but at present, the problem is not too big.

The most critical problem is still in the midfield, not only running-in, but also involving technical and tactical requirements, in the U20 national football team as the core of the midfield, to the U22 national football team is not adaptable, after the game with the South Korean team after the ball is not much, against Vietnam, Yi Mulan constantly receives the ball, but teammates dare not pass easily, so, his organizational attributes are greatly reduced.

This is actually more a matter of tactical setting, and in terms of the U22 national football team alone, it may not be too much of a problem, but in the long run, it is necessary for the team to improve the organizational ability of the midfield.