Only one shot on target! U17 national team loses 0-2 to African runner-up, suffers first defeat as defense makes mistakes and opponent hits the post three times plus misses a penalty

08/07/2026 22:35:17 PlaymakerHub

The match, held on the evening of July 8 Beijing time, saw China's U17 boys fall 0-2 against Tanzania's U17 side, the African runners-up, in the second round of the tournament.

In the first half, the U17 Chinese team had zero shots on target. Tanzania hit the woodwork three times, Zhou Yunuo conceded a penalty, and in stoppage time, a world-class strike from Kizinga broke the deadlock. In the second half, Li Junpeng's own goal was disallowed due to interference from an offside opponent, and Atanasi sealed the win in added time. Ultimately, China's U17 lost 0-2 in a close contest.

This was the first defeat for the U17 Chinese team in the tournament. In the other match of this round, Australia beat Nigeria 4-2.

After two rounds, Tanzania leads with 6 points from two wins, while both China's U17 and Australia have 3 points from one win and one loss; Nigeria sits at the bottom with two losses. On July 11 at 19:35, China's U17 will face their final opponent, Nigeria's U17.

[Key Moments]

In the 39th minute, Zhou Yunuo collided with an opponent in the box, and the referee awarded a penalty. Kizinga's spot kick struck the crossbar and bounced out.

In the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Kizinga scored a stunning long-range goal, putting China's U17 0-1 behind Tanzania.

In the 70th minute, Li Junpeng headed the ball into his own net under pressure from an offside opponent. Referee Maimaitijiang disallowed the goal, giving China's U17 a lucky escape.

In stoppage time, Atanasi capitalized on a defensive error by China's U17 to seal the victory. China's U17 lost 0-2 to Tanzania.

[Match Highlights]

Just 4 minutes into the match, Tanzania nearly took an early lead. Hamis fired a long-range shot that hit the post, and the follow-up effort went wide.

In the 16th minute, Ali's shot from the middle again struck the post and bounced away.

In the 22nd minute, a miscommunication between Jin Yucheng and Qin Ziniu allowed Mbegelendi to shoot from the left side of the box, but Qin Ziniu made the save.