The U20 Asian Cup group stage has reached the second round, in this round of matches, once again there is a big cold. A former "brisket" team has had its own highlights. They toppled the national soccer team's rival, Syria, and are expected to enter the top eight in Asia!
This team is from Indonesia, from Southeast Asia. They are only ranked 151st in the FIFA rankings and 28th in Asia. Their opponent Syria is ranked 90th in FIFA ranking and 14th in Asia. speaking of Syria, Chinese fans must be familiar with it. In the past two World Qualifiers, China met Syria, and China won 1, drew 1, and lost 2 of the 4 times at a disadvantage.
If we look at the rankings alone, Syria will undoubtedly be far ahead of Indonesia, but rankings do not equal strength. In this round, Indonesia created its own myth. In the first round, Indonesia and Syria both lost, with the same score of 0-2. Therefore, this round of matches has become a "battle of life and death" for both teams. Only the team with 3 points will be eligible to move on.
The match started with Syria, who were superior on paper, slightly dominating the game, and Indonesia could only threaten their opponents' goals through counter-attacks. However, Syria didn't find a good way to break through in the face of Indonesia's iron barrel formation. Instead, Indonesia's offense took the lead. In the 35th minute, Indonesia's striker Samir gave the ball to his teammate Karaka. The latter got the ball and cut inside decisively, and the ball flew through the goalkeeper's fingertips into the net. Indonesia was the first to break the deadlock of the match, leading 1-0!
Then Syria, not to be outdone, began to fight back. Unfortunately, their offense just blossomed. They seemed to play a lively game, but they couldn't convert it into goals. Working together, Vietnam relied on their tenacious defense and managed to hold on for the win, earning three hard-earned points! With this win, Indonesia has once again seen their hopes of advancing. In the final round, they will play against the hosts Uzbekistan. If Indonesia can win again, they will have a high probability to enter the Top 8 of the U20 Asian Cup and enter the World Youth Championship, which is no longer a distant dream!
As for the Chinese U20 men's soccer team that everyone cares about, China's hopes of making it out of the tournament became slim after losing in the first round. If you want to advance to the last eight, you can only hope for a miracle!
