After U22 China’s defeat to U22 Vietnam (on November 12), author Luo Zhanggui from Sina newspaper asserted that despite the host nation’s youth team not having its strongest lineup, it still featured many stars participating in the tournament in Chengdu: “In the opening match of the Pada Cup 2025, the U22 China team, despite missing many players due to their participation in the National Games, fielded a squad with numerous players from the Chinese Super League and China League One. Many of these names are even key players for their respective clubs. However, their performance on the field did not meet expectations as U22 China suffered a 0-1 defeat to U22 Vietnam and failed to score any goals.”
Luo Zhanggui questioned whether Shao Jiayi, the head coach of the Chinese national football team, considered resigning as the future of the nation’s football appeared bleak: “I wonder if Shao Jiayi, the newly appointed head coach of the national football team, who watched the match from the stands that night, frowned and considered resigning: Is this the kind of team we will rely on to advance to the World Cup in four years?”
The reason Shao Jiayi was “named” is because he is responsible for selecting players for the U22 squad, even though the direct coach is Antonio Puche. Analyzing the weaknesses in the current U22 China lineup, the article stated: “The inherent weakness of Chinese football, the poor finishing, reappeared in the recent match. In this game, forward Baihelamu Abuduwaili, a key player for both the national team and Shenzhen Xinpeng City club, performed rather poorly. Entrusted with the central striker position, he missed a crucial one-on-one opportunity and contributed little to attacking plays. This image brought back familiar limitations of Chinese strikers: a lack of sharpness in decisive moments.
In terms of his playing history, Baihelamu is a player with excellent training and playing spirit. However, his movement is not subtle enough, and his heavy reliance on physical strength makes his playing style easy to anticipate. Despite leaving his mark in World Cup qualifiers, the 22-year-old forward has yet to score or assist in 19 appearances for Shenzhen Xinpeng City this season. The team also struggled to avoid relegation, only escaping in the penultimate round, and Baihelamu’s role has clearly not met fan expectations.
To be fair, Baihelamu’s journey of overcoming adversity is an inspiring story. He grew up in poverty, with his elder brother sacrificing his education to support his pursuit of football. However, on the field, performance is the deciding standard. At 22, if he continues to maintain an incomplete playing style, especially with a lack of accuracy in crucial shots, his playing time at Shenzhen Xinpeng City is likely to further diminish due to competition from foreign players.
The fact that a striker who hasn’t scored a single goal all season is still given the number one central striker position for the national team certainly gives Coach Shao Jiayi cause for concern. And the 0-1 defeat to U22 Vietnam once again shows that Chinese football still has a lot of work to do if it wants to achieve its World Cup goal in the near future.”
