An Arsenal U17 player controls the ball during a match against China U17 at the Shanghai Future Star Cup in Shanghai on August 3, 2026. Photo: VCG

China's U17 men's national team and Arsenal U17 were declared joint champions of the 2026 Shanghai Future Star Cup after Sunday's final was forced to cancel due to the approaching Typhoon Dolphin, while Chinese forward Zhao Songyuan was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

The final was initially scheduled to be played behind closed doors on Sunday afternoon in Shanghai before it was ultimately called off and not rescheduled, according to the tournament organizers. 

The cancellation brought an unusual end to an impressive campaign for China's U17 team, which went unbeaten throughout the tournament against a lineup featuring several prominent European and South American academy sides.

China opened the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Arsenal U17. Zhao played a key role in the win, scoring China's opening goal and contributing to a second before substitute Cheng Shenghan scored a stoppage-time winner.

China then defeated Spain's Athletic Bilbao U17 1-0, followed by a dramatic 2-1 victory coming from behind to win over Germany's Bayer Leverkusen U17 to finish top of its group with three wins from three matches.

In the semifinal, China faced Argentina's River Plate U17. The two teams remained scoreless after 90 minutes before China prevailed 3-1 on penalties to reach the final. 

The tournament provided China, whose national teams had largely faced Asian opposition in its previous international fixtures, with a rare opportunity to play several high-level youth teams from different football cultures on home soil. 

The men's competition featured Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting CP, River Plate, Athletic Bilbao and Bayer Leverkusen, alongside China U17 and Shanghai's youth team.

For Zhao, the tournament was a particularly notable one. The 17-year-old forward was one of China's standout performers, scoring against Arsenal in the opening match before finding the net again in the comeback win over Leverkusen.

China also collected two other individual awards, with goalkeeper Jiang Chengen named Best Goalkeeper and head coach Bin Ukishima receiving the Best Coach award.

The Shanghai tournament also gave China's young players a chance to measure themselves against academy teams from England, Germany, Spain and Argentina ahead of a major international test.

China qualified for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup earlier this year, ending a 21-year wait for a return to the tournament. At the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar, China will face Morocco, Spain and Fiji in Group H.

The CFA specifically scheduled the team's training camp in Shanghai this summer around its participation in the Future Star Cup as part of its preparations for the November World Cup in Qatar.

While the canceled final denied China and Arsenal the chance to meet for a second time in the tournament, the China U17s' run in Shanghai gave the team four competitive matches against high-level youth opposition and offered a valuable test before its return to the global stage.