As the celebrated 'golden generation' collapsed, absurd suspicions have arisen in China that South Korean players may have lied about their ages.
On the 8th (Korea time), in the final match of the 2025 China Football Association (CFA) Four Nations Friendly Tournament (Peace Cup) held at Shenyang Stadium in China, the South Korean U-16 national team, led by former coaches Kim Hyun-jun, Taxes Kwon, and Lee Dae-ho, achieved a comeback victory over China, winning 4-3.
South Korea lifted the champion's trophy with a perfect record of three wins, defeating Uzbekistan (1-0), Japan (2-1), and China (4-3) in succession in this tournament. The adult national team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, also defeated China 3-0 in the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship held the previous day, causing a two-day consecutive upset in Chinese football.
Despite conceding an opening goal to Chinese defender Lu Chizheng just seven minutes into the match, South Korea turned the tide by scoring three goals in the first half. Kim Ji-ho (Daejeon Hana Citizen U18 Chungnam Machinery Technical High School) recorded the equalizer and a multi-goal performance, and Nam I-an (Ulsan Hyundai U18 Hyundai High School) scored an additional goal just before the end of the first half.
In the second half, South Korea allowed a 3-3 equalizer from China's counterattack, but Choi Min-jun (Pohang Steelers U18 Pohang Iron and Steel High School) scored the decisive goal, sealing the victory. When the final whistle blew, the Chinese players sat down on the grass, clearly showing their frustration at losing at home. The host nation, China, finished third with one win, one draw, and one loss.
Particularly, the Chinese U-16 team is regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime golden generation in their country, making the defeat at home against South Korea, who were missing European players, a significant shock. As China's 'golden generation' collapsed due to defensive instability, suspicions arose within China that South Korean players' physical attributes were so exceptional that they might have been 'lying about their ages.'
Chinese 'NetEase' reported, 'South Korean players are too tall and strong. In particular, both Nam I-an and Kim Ji-ho are tall and have outstanding physical attributes. Many fans doubted that they were not 16 years old.' In fact, South Korea demonstrated an advantage in physical confrontations, with Nam I-an scoring from a play turning his back against the defense in the box.
After South Korea, which had lost 1-4 in their previous encounter last year, captured Uzbekistan, Japan, and China in succession with a dramatically improved roster after a year, claims emerged that 'the changes in the team and the improvement in skill are abnormal.' However, such claims are completely unfounded. The majority of the roster from the previous matchup has joined the national team, so it should be viewed as a difference in pure development.
NetEase stated, 'According to the Korea Football Association, all players participating in this Peace Cup were born in 2009, the same age as the Chinese players. Some were born in January or February, but they are not U-17 and not even one year older,' and they emphasized that 'the age suspicions are merely rumors.'
It was also noted, 'Historically, South Korean players have been physically strong in East Asia. Chinese players from Northeast China tend to be larger in stature, but those from the south are not, making it natural for them to fall behind South Korea. Nevertheless, although they lost to South Korea, our players fought boldly and were simply lacking in experience and luck. They will improve their physical attributes and close the gap with South Korea as they grow.'
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