On January 18th, in the United Arab Emirates, the U20 national soccer team had their first overseas training match in this exotic land. Two sets of carefully arranged lineups took the field in turn, and eventually drew 1-1 with the UAE U20 national team.
Back on January 16th, the U20 national football team departed from the mountain city of Chongqing and arrived in the UAE at midnight. Waiting for them was Coach Antonio and an international coaching team who were ready to greet them locally. After a short break, the team went into their first training session in the UAE.
According to the team, on the eve of the training session, Coach Antonio focused on the players' focus and discipline, noting that both are key to the team's path to the 2023 U20 Asian Cup.
As a simple day of training came to an end, the U20s had their first warm-up match of their overseas training on the evening of Jan. 18, local time, against an equally young UAE U20 team.
Towards the end of the first half, the U20s seized a good opportunity for a penalty kick and Efirdin scored to break the deadlock. As the second half changed hands, Coach Antonio replaced his starting lineup and challenged his opponents with a new second lineup. The UAE U20 team was lucky to get a penalty kick in the extra time of the match to equalize the score at 1:1.
Immediately following, the second matchup will take place on January 20, local time.
