Wu spearheads China attack at AFC U-19 Championship
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Hosts China have included 18-year-old prodigy Wu Lei in their squad for the AFC U-19 Championship in Zibo, which kicks off on Sunday. China, coached by former national team striker Su Maozhen, are looking to win the prestigious title for the first time since their sole victory in 1985.
The top four teams at the biennial, 16-nation event will qualify for next year's FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. Matches will be held at Zibo Sports Center and Linzi Stadium from October 3-17.
Wu earned his first cap for the China national team as a substitute in the 2-0 win over Hong Kong in February's East Asian Football Championship in Tokyo. Last November the Shanghai East Asia forward scored nine goals in five games as China topped Group G in the AFC U-19 Championship qualifying competition in Zibo.
Large attendances are expected for the finals after crowds of between 20,000 and 28,000 attended each of China's four qualifying matches at the Zibo Sports Center.
Guangzhou midfielder Yang Yihu is another player to watch after netting seven times in qualifying, while striker Tan Tiancheng and midfielder Zhang Xizhe are both attached to Beijing Guoan, the reigning Chinese Super League champions.
China kick off their campaign against Saudi Arabia on Sunday and will later face Syria and Thailand in Group A. The hosts will have to bounce back from recent friendlies that included losses to Brazil, France and hosts Japan in September's Sendai Cup and defeats by Japan, USA and hosts Northern Ireland in July's Milk Cup.
Saudi Arabia will look to make up for their disappointment as hosts of the last AFC U-19 Championship in 2008, when they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual champions UAE and missed out on last year's FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.
Saudi Arabia, who won the title in 1986 and 1992, finished second behind Iraq in Group C of qualifying.
Thailand's stars include captain Surachet Ngamtip, who also plays for the senior side under Bryan Robson and joined Bayer Leverkusen's youth squad earlier this year. Striker Chananan Pombupha, who plays for Police United, earned his first cap for the national team in May's friendly against World Cup hosts South Africa.
Syria, who won the title in 1994, have one of the younger sides in Zibo with a squad based largely on players who competed in the 2008 AFC U-16 Championship in Tashkent, where they reached the quarter-finals.
Group B also starts on Sunday with matches between Uzbekistan and DPR Korea, and Iraq and Bahrain.
Group C, which kicks off on Monday along with Group D, features holders UAE, Vietnam, Jordan and Japan, the six-time runners-up
Group D is the 'Group of Death' featuring 11-time winners Korea Republic, 2008 semi-finalists Australia, a highly rated Iran side and Yemen.
The group stage will be held from October 3-8, with the top two teams from each of the four groups progressing to the knockout stage. The quarter-finals will be played on October 11, the semis three days later and the final on October 17.
The majority of top Asian stars have competed in the AFC U-19 Championship. Former 'graduates' include Park Ji-sung, Shunsuke Nakamura, Hidetoshi Nakata and Nashat Akram, while new Japan icon Keisuke Honda and Korean stars Ki Sung-yueng and Lee Chung-yong competed in recent editions.
