For the first time in 21 years, a Chinese men’s national youth team will compete on the global stage. The China U17 squad defeated Qatar 2-0 in the early hours of May 13 (Beijing time) to advance to the knockout stage of the U17 Asian Cup and secure a spot in the U17 World Cup.
The last time a Chinese men’s football national team participated in a world championship was in 2005. That year, the U20 team reached the round of 16 at the World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, while the U17 team went one step further, reaching the quarterfinals at the U17 World Cup in Peru. Several notable players were part of those squads: the U20 team featured Zhao Xuri, Feng Xiaoting, Zhou Haibin, Chen Tao, Zhou Ting, and Gao Lin, among others; the U17 team included Deng Zhuoxiang, Yang Xu, Wang Dalei, Wang Gang, Yu Dabao, and Li Zhuangfei.
The 2026 U17 World Cup will be held in Qatar from November 19 to December 13, 2026. The group stage draw is scheduled for May 21 in Zurich, Switzerland.