U16 warm-up match national football team 1-1 Japan, misused one player and missed the opening

The 2025 "Peace Cup" International Youth Invitational Tournament kicked off in Shenyang, and the Chinese U16 national team faced their old rival, the Japanese U16 team in the opening game. Before the game, the South Korean U16 team defeated the Uzbekistan U16 team 1-0 with their wonderful incisive shooting, adding more suspense to this focus battle. In the end, the Chinese team tied 1-1 with the Japanese team and failed to get a good start. This draw was a regrettable draw, because the Chinese team had the advantage on the field for most of the time, but missed the opportunity due to its own problems.

Father starting lineup: In terms of the Chinese team, Zhang Junhao guards the goal, the defense line is composed of Xu Zhengpeng, Wan Xiang, He Sifan and Li Junpeng, the midfield trio is Kuang Zhaolei, Shuai Weihao and Zhang Xuyao, and the forward line is composed of Xu Zengfu, Nan Zixun and Zhou Yunuo; the Japanese team sent Hoda Samurai, Morii Rito, Rinai Hashimoto, Yuzu Ogasawara, Yuzo Takeuchi, Yasuo, Ezemoku, Sato Dasu, Mitsui Temple Matsu and Kimura Fengdou to start. At the beginning of the game, the Chinese team showed a strong offensive. In just two minutes of the game, Japanese team Ogasawara Yuki formed a threat of shooting, but fortunately Xu Zengfu hugged the ball steadily. In the 4th minute, Wan Xiang seized the opportunity and shot at a small angle, but unfortunately he was resolved by the Japanese goalkeeper. In the 10th minute, after breaking through the left, Shuai Weihao missed an excellent scoring opportunity due to a mistake in stopping the ball. Since then, Wan Xiang’s left side has frequently created threats, but the Chinese team’s lack of ability to seize opportunities has become the key to restricting the team’s goals. In the 15th minute, Shuai Weihao's return pass and Zhang Junhao's shot was above the crossbar. In the first half, although the Chinese team suppressed their opponents, they still failed to convert their advantages into goals. In the 19th minute, the Japanese team seized the Chinese team's offensive gap. Although Wada Samurai's shot was blocked by Xu Zengfu, he quickly made a follow-up shot, helping the Japanese team take the lead 1-0. Despite the backwardness, the Chinese team did not give up on the offense and continued to put pressure on the Japanese team's defense line. In the fierce offensive and defensive confrontation, both sides received a yellow card. At the end of the first half, the Japanese team led 1-0, which was undoubtedly a frustrating situation for the Chinese team, who took the initiative on the field.

The second half changed sides and then fought again. Liang Shiyu, who came on as a substitute, seized the opportunity and scored into the empty goal to help the Chinese team equalize the score! In the 60th minute, the Chinese team made another substitution adjustment, and the poor central defender Nan Zixun was replaced by Gu Boyu. Since then, neither side has scored a goal and finally shook hands 1-1. In the standings, the Chinese team and the Japanese team tied for second place, the South Korean team temporarily ranked first, and the Uzbekistan team ranked last.

Post-match analysis showed that the Chinese team had two major problems in this game: one was the employing mistakes of the central defender, and the other was the poor venue conditions. The absence of captain Lu Qizheng had a significant impact on both the offense and defense of the Chinese team. Compared with Lu Qizheng in terms of experience and technology, Nan Zixun has a big gap, which makes the Chinese team's defense line appear relatively fragile in the confrontation. Nan Zixun's single pass also limits the Chinese team's counterattack speed. In addition, the quality of the turf on the game venue was extremely poor. The original intention may be to limit the technical advantages of the Japanese team, but it restricted the offensive rhythm of the Chinese team and became a stumbling block for the team's offense. Fortunately, head coach Toshihiro Izushima's key substitution ultimately helped the team avoid the embarrassment of home defeat.