The second round of the 2022 FA Cup came to a close on November 18 with three exciting matches taking place. Shanghai Port showed great strength by sweeping Nanjing City 5-0. Suzhou Dongwu narrowly beat CSL side Wuhan Changjiang 7-6 on penalties in an exciting matchup. Also in the battle between the Chinese Super League teams, Zhejiang continued the strength of the Chinese Super League teams with a 1-0 win over Dalian with a golden goal.
After this round of matches, Changchun Yatai, Hebei, Beijing Guoan, Shenzhen, Wuhan Changjiang and Dalian were the six Chinese Super League (CSL) teams that regrettably went out of the competition, and the CSL teams suffered one-third of the "round robin" in this tournament. Although Hebei and Dalian were unable to escape the fate of being eliminated by their Chinese Super League rivals, four Chinese Super League teams, including former champions Guoan, unexpectedly lost to opponents from lower and middle leagues, a staggering result that has made the FA Cup a veritable hotbed of "cold".
On the 18th, Shanghai Harbour Team showed their respect for the game and the importance of their opponents with a perfect opening shot. After Guoan was eliminated by Chinese champions Jingchuan Wenhui, Harbour head coach Leko did not let his guard down, fielding a host of key players including international stars Wu Lei, Wang Shenchao and Yan Junling, as well as foreigners Vargas and Paulinho. In the end, they showed the world the strength of the Chinese Super League giants with a 5-0 win over Nanjing City.
In the other two matches on the 18th, Wuhan Changjiang drew 2-2 with Suzhou Dongwu in the regular season, but lost on penalties to be eliminated by a 6-7 aggregate score. Zhejiang, on the other hand, eliminated Dalian 1-0, a result that was expected. Due to the intensive schedule of the Chinese Super League, some clubs had to send out young or substitute players to cope with the matches. Although the goal of individual Chinese Super League teams is to train young players, they are not willing to meet their Waterloo in the FA Cup. As the FA Cup fixtures progress, the teams in the top 16 will be increasingly focused on competing in the tournament, and the chances of not being favored will diminish.
After a fierce competition, the FA Cup second round is all over, the list of 1/8 final matches was officially announced. The four matches in the first half are: Shandong Taishan vs Zibo Cuju; Wuhan Sanzhen vs Tianjin Jinmen Tiger; Guangzhou vs Cangzhou Lions; and Shanghai Shenhua vs Henan Songshan Longmen. The four matches in the second half of the zone are: Shanghai Harbor versus Suzhou Dongwu; Chengdu Chengdu versus Meizhou Hakka; Jinan Xingzhou versus Jingchuan Wenhui; and Guangzhou City versus Zhejiang.
