The U23 Asian Cup has officially started. The main rules of the tournament are first place in 11 groups and second place in 4 groups. Together with the hosts, 16 1 teams enter the U23 Asian Cup final. For the national football team U23, although the recent state of general, strength is not optimistic, but it is gratifying, at least in the U23 Asian history, the national football team has not missed the final. Everyone was prepared as expected, but the Maldives' sudden withdrawal surprised the other three teams. This left the national U23s with even fewer options. The only way to get the first group is to get the first group.
The match between UAE U23, India U23 and National Football Team U23 and the three teams gradually evolved into the first match between National Football Team and UAE. It happened that the match between the National Football Team and UAE was scheduled to be the first one, so this positive match was basically defined as a life and death match, both for the National Football Team and UAE U23, so no one could lose this match.
The match started with the National Football Team U23's overall game in very good shape, fighting aggressively in front of the field and keeping the UAE U23 stage by stage in their own half of the field. But the stronger UAE U23 didn't panic and steadily used their footwork to get away from the robbing of the National Football Team U23. 11 minutes in, a series of passes in front of the UAE U23 led to Sultan Ali's long-range shot which was slightly too high. 17 minutes in, a rough foul by Yang Zihao almost triggered a clash between the two sides. Fortunately, the referee issued a timely card to stop both players.
In the 24th minute, the national U23s had a great chance to break through. After a cross from the wing, Liang Shaowen was found in the box and his unguarded shot was parried, which then led to chaos in the box. Successive shots from Efirdin and Duan Dezhi missed the target. Unfortunately for the NFC U23, they wasted a very good chance to take the lead. Late in the first half, UAE U23 suddenly counterattacked and Liu Haofan slipped in defense. Khalib Suhailer shot hard at the goal and magically parried it away. The half ended with a 0.:0 draw.
Throughout the first half, the game was quiet and the overall technical and tactical level was average. The national U23s were good in space and mentally, but didn't excel from any other angle of the game. The UAE U23 were slightly stronger overall but did not perform as well as they should have. The team relied too much on Khalib Suhail and the tactics favored long passes and relatively simple. However, in terms of creating absolute chances, both teams had some chances, with the national U23 coming closer to breaking through. Unfortunately, they failed to capitalize. It depends on how Sung Yeo-dong will deploy his troops in the halftime lounge.
At the beginning of the second half, UAE U23 maintained a high-pressure physical confrontation, and the national football players frequently fell to the ground. In the 58th minute, the national football team broke the ball at the backfield, Liu Zhurun made a long pass to find the insertion team. Unfortunately, Liu Zhurun didn't judge the landing spot well under the interference of the opponents, otherwise it would have been another long one-touch goal. After wasting this chance, Sung Yiu Tung was very dissatisfied on the sidelines and then directly replaced him with Jia Fei Fan. As time went on, the fitness of both sides started to drop and the UAE U23 kept changing horses. In the 86th minute, the national U23 got a chance in front of the field, Hu Huotao passed directly to the back from the penalty area, and the UAE defense Man missed the last point.
A draw would have been an acceptable ending for both sides, with a relatively clear picture of what lies ahead. Whoever manages to get more goal difference against India U23 is the first in the group and advances directly to the final round. However, it is very unfavorable for the national soccer team to play India in the first place. After all, when the UAE and India played, they were well aware that scoring a couple of goals would guarantee top spot in the group. If the UAE and the national soccer team have the same goal difference, they should compete for the number of red and yellow cards between them.
Throughout the game, the U23 national football players performed well overall, especially in terms of physical confrontation and stamina. The only drawback was that the speed game was not as good as their opponents. It's unfortunate that Xie Wenneng missed his chance in the final stages, but considering he just came on, there's nothing to complain about. However, Liu Zhurun, one after another, made a mistake and missed the chance to make a crucial comeback, which caused widespread discontent.
