The 2023 F.A.C. Cup has entered its third round, and the competition has attracted more attention due to the participation of Chinese Super League (CSL) teams. Overall, despite the fact that the CSL teams are restricted in the use of foreign players when playing against lower level teams, the overall strength of the domestic players is still very strong, especially with several clubs having reserve players from the national team, the strength of which is leading the domestic soccer field. Of course, the AFC Cup has always been a breeding ground for cold teams. Just on the second matchday of the third round, two big cold matches appeared unexpectedly.
First up was the match between Qingdao West Coast and Cangzhou Lions. The former is a strong team in China's first division. It is currently ranked second in the league and is among the super favorites. Even so, facing the Cangzhou Lions of the Chinese Super League, the outside world was still optimistic about the Chinese Super League team's advancement. However, the game started with Qingdao West Coast dominating the scenario, dominating both ball possession and shot attempts. Although Cangzhou Lions had seen out the win with a goal from Wang Peng, they still lost assurance at the end of the festival. They conceded another goal. In the end, they were eliminated with a score of 1-2, becoming the first Chinese Super League team to be eliminated. Qingdao West Coast advanced to the fourth round as expected.
The result of the other match was even more surprising. The Chinese Super League champion team Chengdu Rongcheng met Chongqing Tongliang Dragons. The latter is a Chinese B team that won 6 wins and 1 square meter in 7 rounds of matches, scoring 19 points and ranking first in the Southern Division, while Rongcheng is temporarily in the third place in the Chinese Super League. There is a clear gap between the two sides. Before the match, it was basically believed that Rongcheng would advance successfully. However, as Chengdu had to play in the Chinese class against Tongliang Dragons, the two teams played a difficult game, with Chengdu failing to score and Tongliang Dragons dragging the game to penalties, eventually eliminating the Super Dark Horses 4-2, who lost for the first time for the first time, bursting out of the biggest upset of the FA Cup so far.
In addition to the two previously mentioned teams, another Chinese Super League team, Qingdao Hainiu, almost ran into trouble. In the match against Dandong Tengyue, the two sides fought for 90 minutes and ended up in a penalty shootout with a score of 1-1. However, Qingdao Hainiu seized the opportunity and advanced to the 4th round of the competition with a score of 4-2. In the next round, they will play against another Chinese Super League team, Changchun Yatai.
As the competition progresses, the F.A.C. Cup will become more and more intense. Harbour and Taishan will meet on June 24, while the elimination of Chengdu Rongcheng and Cangzhou Lions reminds the top two teams not to take things lightly and to give their best if they want to advance.
