In the recently concluded U23 Asian Cup qualifier, the U23 national soccer team and the UAE U23 team played a 90-minute battle, and the U23 national soccer team missed two consecutive excellent scoring chances, and the two sides finally drew 0-0. The U23 national football team was unable to win the first match, which had a significant impact on their qualifying situation. So, are they confident that they will be able to beat India U23 in their next match?
As the Maldives U23 suddenly announced their withdrawal from the tournament before the start of the group stage, this has seriously affected the group's progression scenario. If the U23s want to qualify, they will have to do their best to finish first in the group. The first match in the UAE has become a "fight to the death".
The UAE had control of the field at the start of the match, but the U23 created their first and most threatening attack in the 23rd minute. They capitalized on a free kick in the box of Liang Shaowen, Efirdin and Duan Dezhi and grabbed the second attack, but the triple strike was deflected by the opponents and the U23s missed the first great chance.
The next 40th minute, the U23 national soccer team's defense error was seized by the opponent to complete a very threatening shot, the goalkeeper also appeared to save, fortunately teammates in time to remedy and defuse the danger, finally the two sides in the halftime 0-0 fighting.
The U23 National Soccer Team had another good chance when the game changed sides and battled again. In the 58th minute after a backfield clearance, Tao Qianglong tucked the ball straight into the front of the net. Liu Zhuyun followed up and got a one-touch chance, but strangely enough, Liu Zhuyun made a cheap mistake with the ball, which made it easy for the opponent to settle directly.
Later UAE U23 also posed some threats but didn't get a goal. In the 86th minute, the U23s created their second and final great chance of the game. Hu Hortao swept a low ball from the left side of the box into the center of the field, where Xie Wen could have faced an open goal, but he kicked the air. The ball was seen flying off the line. In the end, the two sides played to a 0-0 handshake.
Failing to get three points has a big impact on the U23 national soccer team's progression situation, which means they not only need to win their next match against India U23, but also need to get as much goal difference as possible. Otherwise, they will have to look at UAE and India in the face in their final match.
However, most of the fans would not have believed that the U23s would be able to beat the Indian U23s after watching the game, and yet, the players in the broadcast cameras did not feel very sorry for themselves after the game. Head Coach Sung Yeo Tung looked determined, perhaps this draw was part of his plan. Now we need to see if he can beat India U23 as planned.
