Chinese Football Association (CFA)
Prior to the opening match, the "strongest Chinese team ever" hosted Brunei, which is ranked lower than China in the world rankings. The number of spectators for the match was estimated to be around 10,088. The stadium was overcast during the match, with the temperature dropping slowly from 19℃ to 18℃ and the breeze was close to no wind at all. The starting players for the Chinese team, in number order, are:
According to Chen Guiren's plan before the match, the Chinese team adopted a 4-3-3 formation, hoping to control the backfield by passing, and gradually promote the organization of the attack in the midfield. Brunei thought that there was no hope of winning the game, so they arranged a defensive counterattack with all the players backing up in the half field, hoping to catch China's mistakes.
The first half of the Chinese team's gradual advance
At the beginning of the match, China and Brunei were testing each other. In the 2nd minute, Brunei's keeper fired a long ball directly to the front of China's penalty area, which was caught by Qiu Yuhong. In the 3rd minute, Ke Yuting broke through from the right side of the field and the ball was intercepted by Brunei's goalkeeper. Brunei's first offside came in the 6th minute in front of the right side, then the Chinese team stabilized the backfield and started to pass the ball from the midfield to No.17 Chan Pak Leong for a long shot. In the 9th minute, Brunei Darussalam was fouled by China and had a free kick opportunity. However, the Chinese defense quickly resolved it and took advantage of Brunei's inability to defend and started a counter-attack on the right side of the field. Despite being cleared off the line by Brunei, China had two corner kicks in the 10th minute, but they failed to capitalize on the opportunity and surrendered the ball in the 11th minute for offside.
In the 13th minute, Brunei Darussalam and China were fouled and both teams were given a free kick, but neither team was able to capitalize on the opportunity. In the 14th minute, China's No.15 Chen Yiwei slid into a Brunei player, effectively stopping the attack but causing both teams to be slightly angry. Later on, Brunei's striker attempted a long-distance shot, but it was too far away from the goal. In the 16th to 18th minutes, the Chinese team failed to attack from the right side of the field with a long pass, Brunei players failed to take advantage of the opportunity to take control of the ball, so the Chinese defenders regained control of the ball and continued to pass, hanging the ball in front of the left side of the penalty area, which made the Brunei players tired of running around. In the 19th minute, Ke Yuting was blocked from advancing to the left, and in the 21st minute, China switched to advancing to the left, but also failed to break through Brunei's defense formation which was compressed by all Brunei's players in the half-court. In the 22nd minute, China's No.13 Zhou Zixuan was fouled by the defense, and then Brunei also committed a defensive foul. In the 24th minute, Brunei failed to break through the Chinese defense after a left and right diagonal pass in front of the midfield. China's No.9 Chen Hao Wei received the ball in front of the right side of the field and took a quick shot from outside the box, but it was caught by Brunei's goalkeeper.
Chinese team was disturbed to take points ahead of the change of scenery
In the 26th minute, China's No.14 Lee Kin Leong was awarded a corner kick on the left side of the field after a Brunei player destroyed the ball in front of the left side of the field. China didn't try to force their way into the game, but they didn't try to take a long shot either, they tried to hold on to the ball as long as they could. In the 31st minute, another corner kick was awarded to the left side of the field, and the Chinese team didn't seize the opportunity, instead, No.9 Chen Hao Wei tried to break through unsuccessfully, and Brunei tightened the defense line to the vicinity of the penalty area. In the 32nd minute, Brunei's goalkeeper failed to clear the ball of Chinese No.11 Lee Mo, but Lee Mo's shot was destroyed by Brunei's players, and another corner kick also went over the line.
In the 33rd minute, Brunei's striker took a long shot from outside the penalty area, which was caught by Chinese goalkeeper Qiu Yuhong. In the 34th minute, Brunei attempted to break through again but failed to cross the Chinese defense. Shortly after that, Brunei team hoisted a very high ball from the right front, the Chinese defense was unable to suppress the Brunei players in the penalty area, which led to Brunei team No.20 Adi Said disturbing the goalkeeper Qiu Yuhong. Brunei's No. 20 Adi Said was able to interfere with the goalkeeper Qiu Yuhong. With this aerial ball, Brunei accidentally took a one-point lead in the away match. The Chinese team and the spectators were shocked.
China was facing a one-point deficit. Soon after the restart of the match, China's No. 9 Chen Hao Wei quickly advanced to the right front and passed to the center of the field, but there was no one to receive the ball. In the 40th minute, Chinese No.17 Chen Bailiang took a long shot from outside the penalty area, and in the 41st minute, No.10 Ke Yuting's left shot was blocked by Brunei players. In the 42nd to 44th minutes, Brunei continued to commit fouls at the backfield, making it impossible for China to score despite free kicks and corner kicks. In the first half of extra time, Brunei players touched the ball with their hands outside the penalty area, and the Chinese team got a good chance to score a free kick, but the kick was too high and flew directly out of the goal.
Brunei's second half of stalling to win
At the start of the second half, No. 9 Chen Hao Wei of the Chinese team received a rolled ball in the middle of the field and had a good chance to face the goalkeeper, but unfortunately Chen Hao Wei missed the shot, causing the audience to express their regret. In the 46th minute, No.11 Li Mao tried to break through, but was fouled by Brunei's No.19. In the 51st minute, China made the first substitution, No.20 Lin Changlun came on the field, replacing No.13 Zhou Zixuan who had a good performance in the first half. In the 55th minute, Brunei attempted to play a ball into the penalty area again, and the Chinese defense cleared the ball directly to the bottom line. Brunei failed to capitalize on the corner kick. Shortly after, No.9 Chen Hao Wei of China showed his breakthrough again, but his shot was too far to the left side and rolled out of the goal line. No.10 Ke Yu-Ting came off the field to rest, and No.7 Luo Zhi-En came in to strengthen the attacking strength of the Chinese team.
