Vietnamese media SOHA broke the news that the draw for the first stage of the Dubai Cup has been revealed, with the Vietnamese U23 team about to be challenged by Iraq and China, while the Thai U23 team will have a hard time with Qatar and Croatia.
But in a plot reversal, the organizers have unexpectedly adjusted the schedule for the second round of the tournament, with Vietnam U23s playing Croatia instead and Thailand U23s facing off against China U23s. This is the only change in the draw.
The change immediately ignited anger in the comments section among Thai fans, who had been looking forward to playing a strong opponent like Croatia. One netizen questioned, "Why did the Chinese team intervene in the draw? Is it because they are afraid of the Vietnamese team? I feel very sorry that the Thai team can't play against Croatia."
"China thought they could make light work of Thailand, but they didn't realize that Thailand and Vietnam were also not to be underestimated."
"Are China's U23s afraid to play Vietnam's U23s?"
"To be honest, Vietnam is lucky to be able to play against Croatia, while we are a bit unfortunate."
This speculation is not empty. Chinese media recently revealed that they are worried that if China's U23 team loses to Vietnam, then China's national football team will be under more pressure: "In just a few years, Vietnam's soccer in Southeast Asia has achieved success, from U15 to U23 age groups have outstanding players. The strength of Vietnamese soccer should not be underestimated. And after losing to Vietnam on the first day of the New Year, the Chinese team has been caught in the whirlpool of public opinion. If the Dubai Cup loses to Vietnam U23 again, the public opinion environment of the Chinese national soccer team will be even worse."
