China’s U17 national team is set to face Qatar in the final group stage match of the AFC U17 Asian Cup on May 13 at 0:00 Beijing time. Despite back-to-back losses in their first two games, the team still holds a slim chance of advancing.
In their opening match against Indonesia, China suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat after conceding a goal in the 87th minute. Against a strong Japanese side in the second game, the team showed resilience in what was arguably their best performance against Japan in recent years at the youth level, but still fell 1-2. With two losses, China sits at the bottom of Group B with zero points. While a glimmer of hope remains, their fate is not entirely in their own hands.
Looking at the current qualification scenario, Japan, who have already secured a spot in the next round, must defeat Indonesia in their final match to keep Indonesia’s points at three. If this condition is not met, all hopes for China will vanish.
Meanwhile, China must go all out to beat Qatar. Only if China, Qatar, and Indonesia all finish with three points can a comparison of head-to-head results and goal difference decide the second-place finisher. Currently, China lost 0-1 to Indonesia, while Qatar beat Indonesia 2-0.
Based on these results, if China wins by a margin of two goals or more against Qatar, they will secure qualification. In that scenario, all three teams would have three points, and their head-to-head goal differences would be: China +1, Qatar 0, Indonesia -1, giving China the advantage.
If China only wins by a single goal, Qatar would take second place, and China would finish third but still have a chance to advance. Since Qatar, as the host nation for the U17 World Cup, has already qualified automatically, the tournament will select the best third-placed team from all four groups. When calculating the third-place rankings, results against the last-placed team in each group (Indonesia for China) will be excluded. In that case, China would have three points and a goal difference of zero. Zhao Songyuan’s goal, though not enough to secure a win, could still prove crucial.
After the match against Japan, U17 head coach Fushimi Toshi encouraged his players in the locker room: “We are not giving up yet. We are still alive. We must seize this last opportunity. It’s like a reward from the football gods for your effort. They saw your fighting spirit and gave us a chance. Let’s grab it. It’s in your hands. Get ready.”
With hope still alive, can China’s young squad seize this opportunity to advance?