#2 China were incredibly lucky
The BRICS Cup was a unique opportunity for FIFA to look at the two ‘sleeping giants’ of world football in India and China. The Chinese Super League has poured in millions in trying to attract superstars, with the Federation also ramping up grassroots development, with some big spending projects.
This Chinese U-17 side are the first fruits of those development goals, and they haven’t looked like a great return on investment so far. While China did walk away with the win, all they had going for them against India was their superior physical stature, and that did not even deter the Indian Colts.
Still, it’s a credit to China that they walked away with 4 points despite looking like the worst team at the BRICS Cup. They barely managed an attack throughout the entire 90 minutes against India, a repeat of their dour style of play against Russia, South Africa and Brazil earlier. There are a couple of talents in Tao Qianlong and Huang Cong, but their performances were not very encouraging.
