In a dramatic turnaround at the U17 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, China’s U17 national team defeated Qatar 2-0 to secure a spot in the U17 World Cup for the first time in 21 years. The victory, fueled by goals from He Sifan in the 32nd minute and Zhang Boren in the 58th, not only ended a group-stage winless streak but also marked a historic return to the global stage after the 2005 edition in the Netherlands.
China’s journey was fraught with setbacks. After consecutive losses to Indonesia (0-1) and Japan (1-2), the team faced elimination. However, a decisive win over Qatar, combined with a three-way tie in the mini-group standings, saw China advance on goal difference (+1) ahead of Qatar (0) and Indonesia (-1). This unlikely result propelled the team into the U17 World Cup, scheduled from November 19 to December 13, 2026, in Qatar.
Japanese head coach Fushima Satoshi attributed the breakthrough to three key factors:
“1) The players never lost faith—they fought with total commitment from start to finish.
2) I take full responsibility for the earlier mistakes and inconsistent performances.
3) We will now prepare rigorously for the World Cup, acknowledging the gap with top teams but determined to showcase the true strength of Chinese youth football.”
He emphasized that the two goals were a reward for hard work in daily training, and the clean sheet was a perfect defensive display. With the draw for the group stage set for May 21 in Zurich, China’s U17 team faces fresh challenges ahead, but their resilience has already earned a place in history.