The first round of the group stage of the Asian Cup continues, and one of the matches that has caught the attention of many Chinese soccer fans is the Group C match. The special thing about this game is that Hong Kong, China's men's soccer team is one of the home teams, and their opponent is the UAE, a powerful team from West Asia. After a fierce confrontation, Hong Kong China was defeated by the UAE 1-3, with both goals coming from penalties.
The four teams in Group C include Iran, the UAE, Palestine and Hong Kong, China, and the competition in this group presents a typical situation of two strong and two weak teams. In terms of world rankings, the UAE is ranked 64th globally and 8th in Asia, while Hong Kong, China is ranked only 150th, leaving a large gap between the two teams. In recent years, the UAE has been steadily ranked as a second-rate team at the Asian level, and they reached the quarterfinals of the last Asian Cup. In contrast, Hong Kong, China has made rapid progress, not only returning to the main round of the Asian Cup for the first time since 54 years ago, but also eliminating Iran from the Asian Games and reaching the quarterfinals. With the Asian Cup just around the corner, Hong Kong, China even managed to beat the national team for the first time since 39 years ago. Hong Kong China's participation in the Asian Cup will never be satisfied with just playing along for the ride.
In the Hong Kong, China lineup, there are a number of players who play in the Chinese Super League and Chinese League One, such as Ru Zinan from Meizhou Hakka, Laurus from Dalian, An Yongjia from Guangxi Pingguo Hazhong, as well as striker Michael from German Bundesliga side Ingolstadt. In the starting lineup, An Yongjia, Pan Peixuan and Everton form a trio, while Hu Jinming, Chen Zhaojun and Chen Junle are paired as a trio of midfielders, with Ru Zinan leading the backline and Ye Honghui in goal.
Hong Kong, China did not play conservatively in the first half. Just 50 seconds into the match, Hong Kong China threatened the UAE goal with an out-of-bounds ball, but Ai Wah Tung's header was not powerful enough. In the 27th minute, Hong Kong, China pressed high in the opponent's penalty area and managed to steal the ball, but unfortunately An Yongjia's shot was blocked. In the 32nd minute, Alamiri's shot led to a handball by Periphery De, and the referee awarded a penalty kick, which Alamiri scored to give UAE a 1-0 lead. In the 36th minute, An
At the start of the second half, Hong Kong, China launched a counter-attack. In the 49th minute, Everton crossed the ball from the right, Chen Zhaojun grabbed the ball before the UAE defenders and stabbed the ball into the goal, equalizing the score to 1-1. Everyone celebrated the goal, and it seemed to be a kind of release for the penalty kick awarded in the first half. However, after only 4 minutes, Hong Kong, China suffered another blow. UAE attacked from the left, Hong Kong China's goalkeeper Yip Hung Fai made two extreme saves, but helplessly the third ball was still snatched by the UAE team, Zayed Sultan made up the empty net and scored, and the UAE once again took the lead 2-1.
Hong Kong, China made a series of personnel changes after the game in hopes of picking up a point against the UAE. Despite the crucial role played by An Yongjia, Hong Kong China was at a disadvantage in the fight for the second goal and never managed to equalize the score. In stoppage time, Hong Kong China's fitness dropped and a foul in the penalty area gave the visitors a penalty kick, which Al Hassani scored from the spot to secure the UAE's victory. In the 100th minute, Hong Kong China's Michael scored a goal, however the referee blew the goal. In the end, Hong Kong, China was defeated by UAE 1-3. It was a really great game for Hong Kong, China to fight for the ball very aggressively, and it was really great to play with the UAE with such a score. From this point of view, it seems reasonable for the Chinese national team to lose to Hong Kong, China before.
The UAE is also a potential knockout round opponent for the national soccer team, which is worth noting. The national soccer team drew with Tajikistan in the first round, and hopes of competing for the top spot in the group stage are no longer too great. However, if the Chinese soccer team can beat Lebanon in the second round, there is a great possibility to get the second place in the group. If they finish second in Group A, their quarterfinal opponent will likely be second in Group C, most likely the UAE. However, it is still too early to consider these possibilities, and for the national football team, if they can't beat Lebanon, they are afraid that they will have to book their tickets home in advance.
