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Stephy Zhang

China’s under-23 football team returned home to a heroes’ welcome despite losing the final of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup to Japan.
A large group of fans greeted the team at Beijing Daxing Airport on Monday, chanting “Welcome home, heroes”.
The exploits of the team in Saudi Arabia have even turned some of the players into overnight stars, with goalkeeper Li Hao’s outstanding performances at the tournament helping to increase his social media following by more than 600,000 followers.
And captain Xu Bin is reportedly a target for English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
After being eliminated at the group stage in seven previous tournament appearances, China reached the showpiece match in Jeddah without conceding a goal in five games.
Li, 21, was considered key to the team’s run, making a total of 28 saves in five matches, including eight in the quarter-final against Uzbekistan.
In just one night after that quarter-final, Li gained about 170,000 followers on his Douyin social media account, and by the time he had returned home after the final, he had about 600,000 new followers.
In addition to Li’s growing popularity on social media, a state media TV programme claimed that three Chinese Super League clubs had expressed interest in signing the goalkeeper, while several major European clubs had also been monitoring him.
However, Li was not getting ahead of himself, commenting that his league performances had not met expectations.

“I’m still not very stable in the league. Sometimes I play very well, but after a few matches, my form goes down. I hope I can keep this good state going.”
In 2016, at the age of 12, Li travelled to Spain to join the youth academy of Atletico Madrid.
In 2023, he signed a professional contract with Atletico but was later loaned to Spanish third-division club UE Cornella.
After seeing all the fans on Monday at the airport, he said: “I didn’t expect this. I was very excited to see so many people welcoming us. Thank you for their support.”
Despite missing out on the tournament’s Best Goalkeeper award, Li remained upbeat.
“Individual awards are not important to me. I care more about not winning the championship. In the future, winning the title will be the brightest moment for Chinese football.”
According to mainland media, 21-year-old Xu is set to join Wolverhampton, though he is expected to be loaned out.
Xu played in all six matches, starting as a substitute only in the semi-final against Vietnam. Xu has trained with the senior national team but has yet to make the squad.


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Chinese under-23 football team receive rapturous welcome home after AFC Asian Cup run

Kuai Jiwen (front) of the Chinese under-23 men’s football team hugging fans at Beijing Daxing International Airport on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

Li Hao has seen a rapid spike in the number of followers on his Douyin account. Photo: Douyin/李昊也是奥斯卡

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Sport

Football

Keeper Li Hao’s solid performances help increase his social media following by more than 600,000 followers; Xu Bin linked to Premier League


Keeper Li Hao’s solid performances help increase his social media following by more than 600,000 followers; Xu Bin linked to Premier League.


Chinese under-23 football team receive rapturous welcome home after AFC Asian Cup run

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Keeper Li Hao’s solid performances help increase his social media following by more than 600,000 followers; Xu Bin linked to Premier League

Keeper Li Hao’s solid performances help increase his social media following by more than 600,000 followers; Xu Bin linked to Premier League