On the evening of September 6, China ushered in the first group match of the U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers and Olympic Qualifiers in Asia against UAE U23.The Chinese team was fully prepared for the match, with Cheng Yaodong emphasizing before the match that the team had been preparing for 3 years, but despite 3 years of hard training, they failed to form the ideal squad system, and even relied on the help of the talent of the national youth players. This is so because the 01 Tier team failed to participate in the U19 Asian Cup qualifiers during their U19 days and is considered one of the worst tier teams in history. The 03 Tier players, on the other hand, had a great run at the U20 Asian Cup in 2023. They were the first to score against Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea and showed excellent offensive and defensive toughness. They also beat defending champions Saudi Arabia in the knockout stage and managed to reach the last eight.
In this tournament, Cheng Yaodong has made a group of National Youth prospects the mainstay of the team for the U23 Asian Cup and the Olympics. Due to the sudden withdrawal of the Maldives National Olympic Team from the tournament, China's match against the UAE in this tournament is equivalent to a life-and-death final. Only a win will essentially qualify them and a loss will essentially take them out of the tournament.The U23 Asian Cup qualifiers are divided into 11 groups, with the first place finisher in each group advancing directly to the tournament, and the second place finisher in the best four groups and the hosts advancing to the tournament as well.The U23 Asian Cup qualifiers are divided into 11 groups.
Facing fierce competition, Sung Yiu Tung demonstrated a 4231 system, with Liu Zhu Run as single arrow, Mutalifu, Tao Qianglong, and Efirdin partnering three forwards, Wang Yu and Duan Dezhi partnering a double midfielder, and Yang Zihao, Liu Haofan, Liang Shaowen, and Zhu Yue partnering four defenders, with keeper Jian Tao. Hu Hu Huotao, Jia Feifan, Abrahan and Xie Wen can come on as substitutes.
In this game, China's possession was close to UAE's 55 open, but created more scoring chances. In the 24th minute of the game, Liang Shaowen got a shot at the back post, but was blocked by the goalkeeper, the ball came to the feet of Efirdin, who was blocked by the defenders, Duan Dezhi supplemented with an empty flight; in the 59th minute of the game, China counterattacked from the back post, Liu Zhuyun missed a knife and handed the ball directly to the goalkeeper, the technique was too rough; in the 86th minute of the game, Xie Wen could have missed the goal and saw the ball sliding out of the baseline, the ability to seize the opportunity was poor, the Poor sense of smell.
In the end, China and UAE played a 0-0 draw, but it was very unfortunate for the Chinese team. The team should have won at least 1-0 as they wasted a lot of chances so they didn't deserve the draw. Three years of grueling training teams for Cheng Yaodong have not proved to have much of a positive effect, with months of long training having taken place twice in half of the last year.
With 2 missed open goals and 1 missed single goal, things are getting delicate after China and UAE drew this game. With China playing India Olympics first and UAE Olympics playing India Olympics later, China will find it difficult to beat India Olympics on goal difference or even be in a passive position. UAE Olympics can have a clear goal against India Olympics while China has no bottom. I do not know how many goals to win India to get out of the line. In addition, the strength of the Indian National Olympics has a certain mystery, and they have a turn in the first round of matches, which makes it impossible for the Chinese team to fully study the opponent, increasing the uncertainty of the game.
