Reporter Chen Yong reports. Apart from the U23 national team, which gathered on December 7, 2025, and is currently competing in the U23 Asian Cup, as well as the senior national team now in training, four other national youth teams have either already started or are about to start their training camps: the U15 national selection team is training in Shenzhen; the U16 national team will begin training in Zhangzhou on the 12th; the U17 national team, having advanced in the U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, will also organize training during this winter camp; the U19 national team has announced its training schedule and will start training in Zhaoqing on January 12. In 2026, the U17 national team's campaign in the U17 Asian Cup will be the key highlight.

U15 National Team: Ongoing Player Evaluation

The U15 national team for the 2011 age group is holding a selection training camp in Shenzhen from January 7 to 21. This camp is divided into two phases: the first phase includes 30 players, and the second phase includes 24 players.

This is the first selection training camp since Zhou Haibin took over as head coach of the U15 national team. According to the training patterns of the Chinese Football Association’s youth teams, especially the younger age groups, at the U13 level, regional training camps are organized to train and assess eligible players, with additional individual training sessions held from July to December. At the U14 level, the association continues organizing regional camps and elite camps that participate in international competitions. For example, in 2025, the 2011 age group training camp took part in international football invitational tournaments held in Xi’an and Hangzhou.

At the U15 level, the youth team is officially formed but is referred to as the "U15 national selection team" or "selection training camp." This year mainly focuses on evaluating players and continuously participating in high-quality international matches. At the U16 level, the U16 national team is formally established; as for the U17 national team, they first compete in the U17 Asian Cup and will only continue training and friendly matches if they qualify for the U17 World Cup.

The current U15 national selection training camp led by Zhou Haibin mainly references players from the past two years’ regional and elite training camps. However, this is just a general list and does not cover all outstanding players in this age group. The coaching staff will continue monitoring various competitions and plans to include more players in future training camps.

In the future, younger age group national teams may start earlier; for instance, in the second half of the U14 age group, a national selection team could begin training and participating in international matches.

U16 and U19 National Teams Focus on Friendlies

Regarding training cycles, the U16 national team (2010 age group) and U19 national team (2007 age group) have similar training and competition schedules. In 2026, their main task is to prepare for the U17 Asian Cup and U20 Asian Cup taking place the following year. However, the difference is that since the 2027 U20 Asian Cup will be held in China again, the U19 national team does not need to participate in the U20 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Of course, the U16 national team might skip the U17 Asian Cup qualifiers if the U17 national team reaches the quarterfinals of this year’s U17 Asian Cup and thus qualifies for the U17 World Cup. In that case, the U16 team would directly enter the final tournament of the 2027 U17 Asian Cup without playing in the qualifiers this year.

The U19 national team belongs to the youth category. The 2007 age group conducted elite training camps in 2024 and started selection training in the second half of 2025, with the 2026 roster becoming relatively fixed. To make room for youth team training and matches, future youth team formations will generally take place after the U17 Asian Cup concludes each year. For example, the next youth team, the 2009 age group, is expected to be formed after this year’s U17 Asian Cup or after the U17 World Cup ends.

U17 National Team: The Spotlight of This Year’s National Youth Teams

The U23 national team is competing in the U23 Asian Cup, but this edition is unrelated to the Olympics. Moreover, future U23 Asian Cups for non-Olympic age groups will no longer be held. Therefore, the focus at this U23 Asian Cup is not on results but on individual player performances, as several players from this U23 team will join the senior national team.

In 2026, the senior national team, U15, and U19 teams have no official competitions, while whether the U16 team has official matches depends on the U17 team’s performance.

Thus, the 2009 age group U17 national team becomes the main focus of the year’s national youth teams. They will participate in the U17 Asian Cup held in Saudi Arabia this May, aiming once again to qualify for the U17 World Cup. In the 2025 U17 Asian Cup, the 2008 age group national team was grouped with the champion and runner-up teams. Unfortunately, they lost by a single goal and missed out on the U17 World Cup.

So far, the U17 national team has performed well overall. Despite some personnel changes, their recent friendlies and U17 Asian Cup qualifiers have been impressive. We look forward to their outstanding performance.