China's renowned football commentator Dong Lu dismissed the U-23 China national team, which lost 1-2 to South Korea in the semifinals of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, stating that 'they haven't made any progress at all' compared to when they lost 0-4 to Japan in the U-23 Asian Cup final in January.

The U-23 China national team reached the semifinals of the Asian Games for the first time in 28 years. In the semifinal match against South Korea, they took the lead with a goal from 19-year-old forward Wang Yuding, who is becoming a key player even in the senior national team. However, they were equalized in the first half and then pulled away in the second half, ultimately losing.

Regarding the loss to South Korea, Dong stated, 'It is essentially no different from the match against Japan in the Asian Cup. While the score appears to have narrowed from 0-4 to 1-2, a loss is a loss. They can win against opponents they can beat, but they still cannot win against opponents they cannot beat. That is the current state of Chinese football. Without improvement, there will be no miracles. With the current situation where they can beat weaker teams but not strong ones, how can they qualify for the World Cup? Don't be fooled by the score. Losing by a smaller margin does not mean progress.'

In response, comments from Chinese football fans on social media included: 'That's right,' 'Football is all about results,' 'No, although they lost, I think they are steadily progressing under manager Antonio Puche,' 'South Korea is aiming for their third consecutive championship in this tournament, and this time they assembled 9 players from European clubs and fully utilized over-age players. (It has been proven that China) can fight reasonably well against South Korea, even if not 50/50, in this age group,' 'Compared to the current senior national team, there is hope for the U-23 team,' and 'Dong Lu is a person who criticizes everything.' (Translation/Editing by Yanagawa)