As the final group stage of the U23 Asian Cup came to an end, the Chinese men's soccer team won 2-1 with the help of goals from Xie Wenneng and Liu Zhurun, not only collecting the first win and the first goal of the tournament, but it also means that we are saying goodbye to the tournament and embarking on the way back.
This win, for us, means a lot. It was our second victory in the U23 Asian Cup in the history of the Olympics, going back six years, to the one we successfully hosted in 2018. Looking back to the first round of the group stage, the trio of Wei Shihao, Yang Liyu and Li combined to sweep Oman 3-0, but then lost in Uzbekistan's clash with Qatar and sadly missed out on qualification. In those days, the controversial decisions of the famous referee Faghani became the talk of the town after dinner. Some said that we were in the "Group of Death", with Japan and South Korea in the same group, and the road to qualification was full of thorns. However, in the match with Japan, we still performed well even in the face of the red card, and in the match with South Korea, we at least grasped the opportunity to score.
Liu Zhuyun, the goal scorer, confessed in the post-match interview that he was very happy to be able to help the team win the game, which is not only a recognition of his contribution to the team, but also a great boost to his self-confidence. Looking back at the Asian Cup journey, he had both regrets and challenges, but finally harvested the victory, which is undoubtedly a confirmation of his personal ability.
Coach Cheng Yaodong's words in the post-game press conference revealed his high hopes for the youngsters. Although the 2-1 victory came a little late, we are out of the Olympics two rounds early. He emphasized that despite this, the players showed tenacity and positively adjusted their mentality and the field improved. He said that even though we are out of the tournament, he would like to thank all the players for their hard work and dedication, especially the youngest among us, the 18-year-olds. He expects the players to perform better in their future careers.
Cheng Yaodong was also honest about the fierce competition in the group stage, with the strength of Japan and South Korea being the direct cause of our failure to progress. He believes that there is still a gap between our team and the top Asian teams in terms of strength and ability, which is also reflected in the 2019 U19 Asian Youth Championship. Nonetheless, he was confident in the future of the team and actively encouraged the young players, as seen in his comments made after the match.
