In light of the postponement of the Asian Games, the mission of last year's tournament has been extended to 2023. Chinese soccer faces the dual challenge of the Asian Cup and the Asian Games this year, especially if they are held on home soil, which undoubtedly provides a great opportunity for the revival of the national football team. After all, playing at home can greatly enhance a team's fighting strength. However, the core of competitive sports is still the actual performance. The national football team needs to take the time to sharpen up and strive for good results in the Asian Games.
As the coach of the U23 national team, Yang Kovic is demanding of his players, with the training program starting early and currently preparing for the tournament in Foshan, Guangdong. Looking back at last year's East Asian Cup, the team won recognition from the domestic soccer community despite their mediocre performance. Therefore, the outside world has high hopes for the team's adjustment, expecting to improve the team's tacit understanding in the Asian Games, which in turn will enhance the confidence and strength of the game, and as for the final results, it is a logical thing.
In order to test the results of the preparations, the Asian Games organized warm-up matches with local teams, and recently played against the up-and-coming Dandong Tengyue team. Given that the players are still in the recovery phase, Jankovic did not ask for a full game but agreed to shorten it to 70 minutes.
The national team needed to take the initiative on the field when it came to power comparisons. After all, the opponent was only a B team last season, and it was expected that the debut of the 2023 Asian Games would be a one-sided thriller. However, the game was surprisingly close, with Dandong Tengue showing resilience. This was due to their rise in strength with two new foreigners brought in during the winter transfer window.
Nonetheless, Men's Asian Games maintained possession early in the match, with key attacker and 21-year-old Super League star Liu Zhuyun scoring a goal. However, Dandong Tengyue equalized late in the game to force a 1-1 draw against the Men's Asian Games team. Such a result is obviously not accountable to the outside world; after all, this is a tournament that is about the image of the national brand. Thankfully, the team still has time to adjust and will travel to Dubai the day after the match to start overseas training, where they will compete against foreign teams.
