On July 12th, according to Soccer Newspaper, after completing their training at the German Football Asian Base in Qingdao Sino-German Ecological Park, the U15 national youth team embarked for South Korea on July 6th to prepare for two upcoming friendly matches against South Korea’s U15 team at the Mokpo International Football Center.
It is reported that this trip to South Korea for a friendly match is part of an agreement between the Chinese and South Korean football associations aimed at enhancing international competitiveness among young players and promoting cultural exchange. This South Korean U15 team from 2009 has played Japan three times with a record of one win, one draw, and one loss. In April, they participated in the Italian Cup, where they recorded two wins, one draw, and one loss, including a 2-1 victory over Italy. Although only nine players from this list competed in the Italian Cup, the overall strength of the team remains formidable, under the coaching of Kim Hyun-jun from the South Korean Football Association.
Two days after arriving in South Korea, the U15 national youth team played their first friendly match against South Korea’s U15 national youth team. The game was divided into three sections, each lasting 30 minutes. Initially, the national youth team had a slight advantage, but South Korea’s U15 team subsequently sent out their main squad, creating multiple opportunities, and scored the only goal in the 45th minute. Under the pressure from the opponents, the national youth team’s formation became somewhat disjointed, missing a golden opportunity to equalize the score before the end of the game. Following this, both teams engaged in a series of “friendship” activities, including joint training sessions.
In the morning of the 11th, the national youth team’s starting lineup faced off against South Korea’s national youth team again. The match was divided into two sections, each lasting 40 minutes. Compared to the start of the first match, South Korea fielded more of their main players, putting the national youth team behind 0-1 in the first section. However, the national youth team then adopted a simpler playing style, scoring four goals in succession between the 57th and 74th minutes, turning the game around. The scorers were He Sifan, Wan Xiang, Liang Shiyu, and Kuang Zhaolai, and just before the end of the match, Wan Xiang nearly made it 5-1. Facing a strong opponent, the U15 national youth team secured a significant victory.
That afternoon, the national youth team’s substitutes played a friendly match against Mokpo Industrial High School’s U18 team. With Wang Xiuhao scoring twice and Huang Zijie contributing a goal, the national youth team won 3-1. Thus, the national youth team concluded their Korean training camp, recording two wins and one loss in three friendlies, and wrapped up this training camp on the 12th. Before traveling to South Korea, U15 national youth team coach Fushima Min had spoken about the football association’s overseas training camps in an interview with this newspaper, pointing out that higher-level teams like Japan and South Korea also enhance their own levels by competing against high-caliber foreign opponents. “This kind of training camp is of great significance to our growth.” After this Korean training camp, the U15 national youth team will follow the approach taken by the U16 national youth team, gradually shifting the location of future training camps to Europe. There will be two European training camps this year, with opponents including club youth teams and corresponding national teams, and next year they will participate in the Dream Bundesliga project.