At 18:00 on September 16, the National Football Asian Games Team, which is based on the U23 National Football Team, will face its first opponent in the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games – the North Korean Asian Games Team. Xiang Yuwang and Yao Haoyang from Chongqing Tonglianglong Club will usher in their own Asian Games journey. On September 15, an upstream reporter learned from the Chongqing Tongliang Dragons Club that the two had traveled to Nagoya, Japan with the team on September 14.
When the Chinese Football Association announced the list of the National Football Team for the Asian Games, three people from Chongqing Tongliang Dragons were selected (Xiang Yuwang, Li Zhenquan and Yao Haoyang). Later, because Li Zhenquan was accidentally injured during training, only Xiang Yuwang and Yao Haoyang finally went with the team. Tonglianglong Club staff revealed: “Currently, Xiang Yuwang and Yao Haoyang are in good physical and mental condition, and are actively preparing for the first game.”
Xiang Yuwang said in a recent interview with reporters: “In my mind, the Asian Games is the highest-level comprehensive event in Asia. The competition in football is very fierce. It brings together outstanding young players from all over Asia and is a big stage to test the strength of our young players. Being able to wear the national team jersey to compete in the Asian Games this time, I feel full of honor and shoulder the responsibility.”
During the training camp in Dalian, the National Football Asian Games team had a warm-up match with the Uzbekistan team. Neither Xiang Yuwang nor Yao Haoyang got the chance to start. At that time, the National Football Asian Games team deployed the “national football combination” of Zhang Yuning and Wang Juedong on the striker, and Li Hao was still the starting goalkeeper. In the end, the National Football Asian Games team won 2-0 with goals from Wu Xi and Kuai Jiwen.
Zhang Yuning and Wang Juedong are the first choice forward line of the National Football Team Asian Games coach Antonio. There is also Kuai Jiwen who has scored goals and Baihe Lamu who is in good form. Xiang Yuwang has a lot of competition to make his debut. However, Xiang Yuwang scored a penalty kick in the warm-up match against the U23 North Korean team in March this year. In order to provide psychological warfare to the opponent, Antonio may also send him to play.
Xiang Yuwang is mentally prepared for the fierce competition within the team: “Every time I play for the country, I want to be at my best and live up to everyone’s expectations. As a forward, I hope to seize the opportunity to contribute more goals to the team and show the hard work of our young players.”
The National Football Asian Games team was assigned to the “Death Group” Group B. The opponents in the same group, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and North Korea, are also very strong. According to the Asian Games men’s football schedule, the National Asian Games team will play its first game against North Korea on September 16, and CCTV will broadcast the game live. On September 20, the National Football Asian Games team played against Iran in the second game and against the United Arab Emirates on September 23.
At the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, the National Football Asian Games team lost 0-2 to the South Korean team and stopped in the quarterfinals. In this Asian Games, the National Football Asian Games team is based on the U23 men’s football team that won the U23 Asian Cup runner-up. It hopes to achieve further results and even strive for medals. However, if you want to achieve this goal, the process will not be easy.
Attached: National Football Asian Games Team Schedule
September 16, 18:00 National Football Team Asian Games Team VS North Korea Asian Games Team
September 20, 13:00 National Football Team Asian Games Team VS Iran Asian Games Team
September 23, 13:30 National Football Team Asian Games Team VS UAE Asian Games Team
