At 9:00 a.m. on November 25th, a much-anticipated match ended in the men's soccer semifinals of the first National Youth Three-Sport Games. Jilin U18s lost 2-5 against Shanghai U18s, while Sichuan U18s lost 0-3 against Shandong U18s. Jilin and Sichuan will fight for the third place, while Shanghai will challenge Shandong for the title.
As the favorites to win the championship, Shanghai U18s won all three of their group matches and defeated Hebei U18s 6-1 in the quarterfinals, showing strong competitive strength. Facing a strong Jilin team, they used a mixed lineup of 2006, 2007 and 2008 age groups. Although they were attacked by their opponents soon after the game started and conceded goals in the 4th, 8th and 18th minutes, they were able to stabilize the game by virtue of their overall strength and experience.
In the second half, Jilin U18s adjusted their lineup and launched a fierce counterattack. In the 61st and 65th minutes, Wang Zihao and Du Kailuo scored a goal each to bring the score to 2-3. However, Shanghai U18s scored again in the 68th and 72nd minutes to seal the win at 2-5. Despite Jilin's excellent performance in the second half, which reduced the score to 2-2, they still could not turn the game around.
At 14:00 on November 27, Jilin U18 team will compete with Sichuan U18 team for the third place.
