Hao Li

Li Hao came up through Wanda Group's "China Football Hope Star" programme, which put him in Atlético Madrid's youth academy before he had made a senior appearance anywhere. He returned home to Beijing Wanda and then moved through the youth ranks at Meizhou Hakka and Dalian Pro, before a second spell in Spain — this time on Atlético Madrid B's books, followed by a loan to UE Cornellà in the Primera RFEF, where he made two appearances. He arrived at Qingdao West Coast in January 2025 as a free agent, playing 29 league matches in his first season and 24 in the next.

His breakthrough came with China's youth side rather than his club. At the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, Li Hao started every match and finished the tournament with 33 saves, the most of any goalkeeper, while going 492 minutes without conceding. He was named Man of the Match in the quarter-final against Uzbekistan, saving seven shots from close range during the game and then a penalty in the shootout as China reached the semi-finals of the competition for the first time. The clean sheet run ended just 12 minutes into the final, which China lost 0-4 to Japan.

Li Hao finished as runner-up for the tournament's Best Goalkeeper award, behind Japan's Rui Araki, a decision that drew criticism from Chinese media and from coach Antonio Puche over how the award was judged.