Sports: U22 national football players say this generation has no fear of Korea and is confident in playing against any opponent

6686 Sports News on November 16 According to "Sports Weekly" reporter Wang Xiaorui, after China U22 defeated South Korea U22 with a score of 2-0, many players on the team said that "our generation no longer has Korean phobia."

In the Yancheng Four Nations Tournament 8 months ago, China U22 defeated its opponent 1-0 thanks to captain Liu Haofan's goal. And if we go back to the Weinan Four Nations Tournament in June last year, the smaller U20 National Youth Team (05/06 age group) beat the South Korean team 2-0. Interestingly, Chen Zeshi, He Yiran and Yang Haoyu, who were core players at the time, also played this time. In addition, Liu Chengyu and Mao Weijie, who have just returned from the National Games, are also included.

Among them, Chen Zeshi is one of the few who has witnessed the three kills of the Korean team. "It still feels different." Looking back on the past after the game, he said earnestly to our reporter. "When I played the Korean team for the first time, it was more of an unknown. I didn't know what level they were. After all, we hadn't played many international competitions at that time. I just knew that the intensity (of the competition) was very high. So at that time, I still wanted to be myself and give full play to my abilities."

Chen Zeshi, who only wanted to "be themselves", got off to a good start against South Korea for the first time - in the Panda Cup, with Liu Chengyu's brace, they defeated their opponent 2-0. So far, that victory has been regarded as a sign of the take-off of these 05-year-old players. After that, they competed in the U20 Asian Cup, and then many people jumped to the U23 national team. Among them, Chen Zeshi, Mao Weijie, Kuai Jiwen and others have been selected by Antonio one after another since March this year and have been included in the U23 national team system. As a result, as soon as they debuted, they defeated the Korean team again.

Up to the third victory in the Panda Cup, Chen Zeshi said: "Compared to the first time, I have been moving up step by step. There are more teams, and my understanding of the entire competition, including all aspects, is gradually developing. Of course, when you encounter opponents like the Korean team, you will be more comfortable in dealing with them." But in fact, the Taishan midfielder has just recovered from injury. After the reserve player came on the field, it was inevitable that people were a little worried: "For me, playing on the field is to go all out to help the team. And those past experiences are also equivalent to some (victory) experience, which can help me now to handle the ball and scenes better on the field." The result was exactly 18 minutes after he came on the field, through a pressure attack, and then sent an assist to help the U22 national football team secure the victory in advance.

In this U22 national team, the problem of self-confidence in South Korea no longer exists. Bayholam said: "We are not Korean phobic, and we are very confident in playing against any opponent." Zhang Yanhui said bluntly: "I will definitely have confidence in the Korean team in the future, and I hope to bring this confidence to the national team level in the future." Of course, another meaning of this confidence is the full trust in coach Antonio. As Liu Haofan said: "South Korea is a strong team in every age group, whether it is the U series (or adult team). We were able to defeat them mainly because the coach's analysis was very good, which really allowed us to play a lot better..."

The history of China's 03/04 age group and 05/06 age group against South Korea

[2003 age group]

2018 U15 East Asian Cup China U15 0 to 3 South Korea U15

2023 U20 Asian Cup China U20 1 to 1 (0 to 2) South Korea U20 Mutalifu 1 goal

2025 Yancheng Four Nations Tournament China U22 1 to 0 South Korea U22 Liu Haofan 1 goal

2025 Chengdu Panda Cup China U22 2 to 0 South Korea U22 Baihe Lamu 2 goals

[2004 age group]

2018 Wuhan Cup China U14 3 to 1 South Korea U14 He Xiaoke 3 goals

[2005 age group]

2019 Wuhan Cup China U14 1 to 2 South Korea U14 Qu Geping 1 goal

2024 Weinan Cup China U19 2-0 South Korea U19 Liu Chengyu 2 goals

[2006 age group]

No confrontation record