New Highlight in China's National Team Squad: 17-Year-Old 'Chinese Haaland' Zhao Songyuan Makes History

To prepare for the international friendly matches in September and October, the Chinese national football team officially announced its latest training squad. With many key players called up by the U23 national team, head coach Shao Jiayi still selected 30 players and continued the youth-oriented selection approach, bringing in young players in good form to increase their practical experience. Among the squad members, there are three players aged 18 or under: Bunyamin of Yunnan Yukun, Wang Gengrui of Qingdao West Coast, and Zhao Songyuan of Tsinghua High School. In addition, many players around the age of 20 have also joined the squad, with the overall lineup reflecting the principle of combining experienced players with younger talents.

Among them, Chengdu Rongcheng are undoubtedly the biggest winners of this training camp. As the leaders of the Chinese Super League, Chengdu Rongcheng have seven players selected for the national team squad, including Liu Dianzuo, Han Pengfei, Wei Shihao, Wang Ziming, Yang Mingyang, Jian Tao and Li Yang. Meanwhile, He Yiran, Hu Hetao, Baihelamu and Mutalifu, who had previously been selected for the U23 national team, mean Chengdu Rongcheng have supplied as many as 11 players to the two national teams, fully demonstrating their outstanding performance this season. Dalian Yingbo, who rank second in the Chinese Super League, have only Yang Mingrui included in the senior national team squad this time.

Yunnan Yukun, who also rank fourth in the Chinese Super League, have only one player selected, namely the highly regarded 18-year-old youngster Bunyamin. Before the national team squad was announced, many fans hoped Shao Jiayi would call him up because of his outstanding performances in the Chinese Super League this season. Although he is only 18 years old and is playing in the Chinese Super League for the first time, his performances have been eye-catching, and his ability is considered no less impressive than that of Wang Yudong. Shao Jiayi followed the fans' suggestions and included Bunyamin, which is both recognition of his personal ability and acknowledgement of his recent strong form.

However, the biggest surprise was not limited to Bunyamin. What surprised fans most was that 17-year-old Zhao Songyuan also successfully earned a call-up. This means he moved directly from the U17 national youth team to the senior national team, which was unexpected. Zhao Songyuan delivered outstanding performances in U17 national youth team matches. Standing at 1.94 meters tall, he also possesses excellent mobility and can play multiple positions, including centre-forward and attacking midfielder. His technical ability has made him a core player of the team.

Shao Jiayi appears to have high expectations for this young player, especially considering that the national team currently lacks options at centre-forward. With Zhang Yuning and Baihelamu both absent, giving Zhao Songyuan an opportunity to test himself at a higher level could be considered. Born in 2009, Zhao Songyuan, nicknamed the 'Chinese Haaland', has been selected for the national team at the age of 17, which is extremely rare in the history of China's national team. Previously, only Jin Zhengmin in the 1950s had achieved such a feat, making Zhao Songyuan the first such player in 70 years for the national team. Fans hope he can receive playing time in China's September friendlies and showcase his potential and talent.