China’s emerging football generation rising to the occasion gives fans glimmer of hope
Young players, who reached AFC U23 Asian Cup final, are playing pivotal roles in their club teams’ strong positions in the domestic standings
The fact that more than half of the 16 Chinese Super League clubs appear in the current standings with asterisks next to their names is illustrative that domestic football on the mainland is hardly in rude health.
Beneath the darkness, a brighter picture is emerging; one that has fans in the country tentatively optimistic that their national team will reach the 2030 World Cup, after six straight failures since China’s lone finals appearance in 2002.
Forward Wang Yudong, the 19-year-old poster boy of a talented and likeable emerging generation, has four goals in 11 games for Zhejiang FC, all of them directly contributing to points earned for his team.
At just 22, Xiang Yuwang is captaining Chongqing Tonglianglong, the newly-promoted club whose sound form, coupled with others’ misdeeds, has them second in the embryonic table.
The 20-year-old, 1.89-metres (6ft 2in) centre-back Peng Xiao has featured nine times for Shandong Taishan, while at Chengdu Rongcheng, the 22-year-old left-back Hu Hetao has started all of the runaway leaders’ 10 victories and one draw.