Photo: Xinhua News Agency

TheMK sports Korea Chinese national under-20 football team defeated their Syrian counterparts on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory in the buildup to the AFC U-20 Asian Cup, extending their unbeaten run to five games.

Kuai Jiwen, Wang Yudong and Du Yuezheng scored the goals for China in a match behind closed doors, the team's final tuneup for the Asian Cup.

The AFC U-20 Asian Cup 2025 is scheduled to be held in Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province from February 12 to March 1. This will not be the first time China has hosted the tournament as it did so in 2010.

The top four teams of the 2025 Asian Cup will automatically qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.

Now the Chinese under-20 team is grouped with Australia, Kyrgyzstan and Qatar in the Group A. 

Their first match will be against the Qatar U-20 team on February 12. They will then take on the Kyrgyzstan U-20 team at 19:30 on February 15 and face the Australia U-20 team on February 18. 

Tickets for the tournament went on sale at 12:00 on Wednesday.

Branko Ivankovic, head coach of the Chinese men's senior national football team, is also believed to see the U-20 Asian Cup as a key opportunity to scout young talents for the senior national team.

The performances of the U-20 players in this tournament may determine their chances of being selected for the national team, as Ivankovic aims to accelerate the rejuvenation of the senior national team, which will continue their World Cup Asian qualifying campaign in March.

"The friendly on Wednesday is a crucial rehearsal ahead of the U20 Asian Cup, as it is a practical test of the Chinese team's strength and fighting spirit," Zhang Bin, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Led by Serbian coach Dejan Durdevic, the Chinese under-20 team had mixed results in warm-up matches during their overseas training campaign. 

Prior to Wednesday's game, in a remarkable comeback during a warm-up against the Uzbekistan under-20 team, Liu Chengyu and Wang scored two goals in the last three minutes when China was trailing 2-0, ending the game in a 2-2 draw. The comeback not only boosted the team's morale but also demonstrated their tenacity.

Liu Chengyu from Shanghai Shenhua, who is expected to step into the shoes of veteran and Chinese Super League top scorer Wu Lei, have been  outstanding members? of the national youth team. 

The home AFC U20 Asian Cup provides an excellent platform for the Chinese U20 national team. 

With the strong support of the home crowd, the team will have the opportunity to showcase their skills and the fruits of their training. 

"Competing against other outstanding teams from across Asia will help evaluate the effectiveness of China's youth football player cultivation," Zhang said about the importance of hosting the U20 Asian Cup.

"This will enable the discovery of areas for improvement, which can then be promptly addressed, thus guiding the further development of youth football training in China."

Separately on Wednesday, the Chinese women's under-17 national team defeated their Japanese counterparts with a 1-0 win. 

The women's under-17 team, led by coach Wang Hongliang, started their training session in Japan on January 22, with three wins and two draws in five games.