 After several months of studying, Gao Hongbo was appointed the coach of the national U-17 team.Although the team eliminated South Korea despite of Koreaphobia and qualified from group stage in the AFC U-17 Championship 2000, the 1–7 defeat to Japan essentially ended his job.After the game, Gao Hongbo resigned from the national post and returned to help Xu Genbao in coaching Shanghai Zhongyuan.