On the evening of March 20, at 21:45, China's U23 national team started an intense warm-up match at the Nasiryan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in a foreign country, against Wahda, a club also from the UAE. This long-awaited international match was of great significance to our U23 team, which has not appeared in an international match for two and a half years. After a fierce battle, the two sides shook hands with a score of 1-1. In the 15th minute, Martins was the first to break through for Wahda through a penalty kick, while in the 60th minute, a precise shot by our U23 player Fang Hao hit the goal post, but Chen Guoxi's supplementary shot managed to equalize the score.
Recall that on the 15th of this month, our U23 national team played their first warm-up match in Haikou, but were defeated 0-2. As they prepare for the upcoming Dubai Cup International Football Championship, the team arrived in Sharjah, UAE, in the early morning of March 18, Beijing time, to prepare for the next challenge. For this trip, manager Jankovic led 24 players, including Wu Shaocong, Han Jiaqi, Jiang Shenglong and other former national football players who transferred to the team, while Zhang Jiansheng joined as a new member of the complementary recruitment, and Shan Huanhuan and Su Shihao did not have any chance to be on the final list due to injuries.
The UAE league is currently in its 19th round, and Wahda is in the second place with a difference of 2 points. In this match, Wahda sent the strongest lineup, including 6 players called up by the UAE national team, as well as Brazilian foreigner Pedro and Portuguese foreigners Martins and Canedo. Compared to the previous warm-up match with the national football team, our U23 national team made four starting adjustments in this match, with players such as Jiang Shenglong, Ye Lijiang, Chen Guoxi, and He Yupeng replacing Huang Jiahui, Xu Haofeng, Sun Qinhan, and Mou Xuchen.
[Highlights]
In the 15th minute, Wahda striker broke through inside, our U23 national team center back fouled, Wahda was awarded a penalty kick, and Martins scored a goal, our U23 national team was 0-1 down!
However, our U23 national team, which was trailing, did not give up and in the 39th minute, a succession of shots on goal created a dangerous situation.
In the 45th minute, Tao Qianglong's shot from the right side of China's U23 national team went wide again.
In the 47th minute, China's U23 national team passed, Fang Hao cleverly let go, substitute Liu Zhurun shot over the crossbar.
In the 60th minute, Fang Hao made a continuous breakthrough on the left road, shaking past three defenders and then shot at the goal inside the penalty area, the ball hit the post and bounced out, and Chen Guoxi followed up in time to make up for the shot, and China's U23 national team leveled the score at 1-1!
In the 78th minute, our U23 national team shot consecutively, but unfortunately, Missy Xuchen missed a good opportunity.
Just before the end, China's U23 national team broke through on the right and passed to substitute Cai Mingmin, whose shot from the middle of the field was parried off the line by Wahda's goalkeeper.
In the end, our U23 national team drew 1-1 with Wahda.
Next up, our U23 national team will face UAE U23 in the first round of the Dubai Cup on March 23 at 20:00 p.m. On March 26, the team will face Thailand U23 in the second round of the tournament.On March 29, our U23 national team will take part in the ranking tournament.
[Formation of our U23 national team]
Starting XI (4231): 1-Han Jiaqi; 16-Wen Jiabao (80'28-Zhang Jiansheng), 5-Wu Shaochong, 6-Jiang Shenglong, 3-Ye Lijiang (62'17-Xu Haofeng); 15-Diliyimiti (82'2-Wang Xianjun), 13-Xu Yue (62 '8-Cai Mingmin); 14-Chen Guoxi (62'11-Sun Qinhan), 7-Tao Qianglong (46'22-Liu Zhurun), 21-He Yupeng (62'30-Abdul Meisuli); 20-Fang Hao (62'18-Mu Xufeng). '18-Mao Xuchen);
Unattached substitutes: 12-Peng Peng, 19-Huang Jiahui, 26-Chen Artery
Not enrolled: Qi Yuxi, Huang Zihao
