China's preparations revealed as U23 Asian Cup opens soon
Under a starry night sky, the U23 Asian Cup 2024 kicks off on the night of April 15 Beijing time on the soil of Qatar. Hosts Qatar will face the Indonesian Olympic team on their welcoming home turf, while China will make their debut on the night of the 16th, facing group leaders Japan. 16 teams have been divided into four groups, with the top three teams earning tickets to the Paris Olympics, while the fourth will have to go through a play-off against an African team. For the Chinese team in the "group of death", how to find a breakthrough in the group stage has become the most urgent task.
The Chinese team's opponents in this Asian Cup include Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. In warm-up matches in Doha and Dubai, the Chinese team defeated Saudi Arabia and Qatar by scores of 2-0 and 2-0, respectively, and then beat Malaysia 2-1 and Jordan by a small margin of 1-0 in a tightly-contested showdown. However, China lost 0-2 in a warm-up match against Uzbekistan on the 11th. After the defeat, the Chinese Olympic team returned to Doha in a flurry of activity and engaged in an intense final phase of preparation. Yang Xu, vice president of the Chinese Football Association, also arrived in Doha recently and will support the Olympic team on their trip to Paris.
The Olympic team shared a hotel with the Uzbekistan team and daily training took place at the Elsal training base. The standard of the U23 Asian Cup has been lowered compared to the Asian Cup, with the organizing committee providing only five training bases and 10 training venues for the 16 teams. To ensure that training time is fully utilized, teams need to book in advance.
In terms of venues, only four stadiums are available for the U23 Asian Cup. The first match between China and Japan will take place at the Jassim Hamad Stadium, a stadium that is not new to Chinese fans as it is often referred to as the "Al Sadd" stadium. Although the stadium was built in the early days, it has been renovated several times and is in good condition, even with closed ceilings and air conditioning.
The stadium will also be the home of the Qatar Olympics, where the first match of the U23 Asian Cup will be played. It's worth noting that China and Qatar have played their previous warm-up matches here as well, and the players are no strangers to the venue. The final two matches of the Chinese Olympic team will be moved to the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, and according to the weather forecast, the Chinese team is likely to encounter rain. However, the organizing committee will open air-conditioning facilities for the teams in order to cope with the scorching heat.
The first match of the Sino-Japanese Olympics will be officiated by female referee Kathy Reibel from Australia, who refereed China's women's soccer team against England in last year's Women's World Cup. The two referees are from Australia and Kyrgyzstan.
The head coach of the Japanese National Olympic team is Tsuyoshi Oyen, who has been the head coach of Kashima Antlers and has played against the Chinese Super League team in the AFC Champions League on several occasions. Since 2022, Tsuyoshi Oyen has been at the helm of Japan's National Youth and National Olympic teams. Chinese fans are no strangers to this coach. Talking about the opponent of the first match, the Chinese Olympic team, Tsuyoshi Oyen said, "I am impressed by the individual physical quality of the Chinese players and the intensity of the game, and I will work hard to adjust the players' condition and be fully prepared for the first match."
