The matchup between South Korea and Indonesia is a major surprise in this year's U23 Asian Cup. Indonesia are virtually unheralded in FIFA's latest rankings, sitting at just 134th, while South Korea stand out in relative prominence with a 23rd-place finish. However, in a seemingly one-sided contest, the two sides battled it out. After 12 rounds of thrilling penalty kicks, Indonesia narrowly beat South Korea 13-12 to reach the quarterfinals as a first-time participant!
The match between Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia is a rematch of the last U23 Asian Cup final. In the last edition of the tournament, Saudi Arabia defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 to win the title. This time around, Uzbekistan were determined to clean up their past shame and eventually avenged the defeat with the same scoreline of 2-0 to lock up a spot in the quarterfinals. They went all the way in this tournament and seek to fight for their second U23 Asian Cup trophy.
In the end, the Iraqi team succeeded in advancing to the quarterfinals by virtue of its strong strength and outstanding performance. Facing the challenge of Vietnam, the Iraqi team firmly took the initiative, with a clear lead in possession and shots on goal. With Jassim's penalty kick, Iraq won 1-0 against Vietnam, standing on the stage of U23 Asian Cup quarter-finals again after eight years!
The Chinese men's soccer team had an ill-fated tournament, being placed in the "Group of Death" with Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, and eventually exited the group stage. Despite failing to qualify for the knockout rounds, they beat the UAE 2-1 in the game of honor to finish in ninth place. This promising Chinese youth army failed to go further, but brought unlimited expectations for the fans. Looking ahead to the next U23 Asian Cup, we have reason to believe that participating in the draw as the number one team will be a new start for China.
Of these four strong teams, which one will be able to have the last laugh and become the champion of this year's U23 Asian Cup? This will undoubtedly become a major suspense on the field.
