A piece of news from the faraway UAE reveals a subtle change in the world of soccer. The UAE Football Association (UAEFA) has recently finalized the blueprint for the Dubai Cup International Football Championship. Surprisingly, the Vietnam U23 team, which was supposed to play against the China U23 team on March 26, had to withdraw from the stage due to an epidemic and was quickly replaced by the Thailand U23 team.
This change may seem insignificant, but it is actually far-reaching. At a time when the "Sino-Vietnamese Football Dialogue" is in the spotlight due to the national football team's first defeat in the 12-team tournament, such an adjustment undoubtedly reduces a lot of pressure on the Chinese U23s and even the national football team as a whole.
It is reported that after the organizers of the tournament confirmed the list of participating teams, had initially drawn up a detailed schedule and match-up table. According to the original plan, the Chinese team will meet the UAE U23 team and Vietnam U23 team on March 23 and 26 respectively.
The national football team unexpectedly lost to Vietnam away on the first day of the Lunar New Year, not only bidding farewell to the Qatar World Cup final round two rounds ahead of schedule, but also making waves in the football world of the two countries and even the international football world. However, a U23 national soccer team member downplayed the situation by saying, "If we are so nervous against Vietnam, what else can we expect?"
However, the latest news this week indicates that the schedule, format and specific matchups for the Dubai Cup have been finalized. China will still face the UAE U23s in the first round, while the second round will be changed from Vietnam to Thailand U23s.
One wonders if it was the CFF or the Chinese U23 team that initiated the request to adjust the matchup situation. This is not the case. According to the Beijing Youth Daily reporter reported on March 5, the organizing committee of the "Dubai Cup" recently received a notice from the Vietnam Football Association, due to the impact of the epidemic, the U23 team of Vietnam has been infected cases. If the number of infected people is too large, it will affect the participating lineup, and may even be withdrawn from the tournament in advance. For this reason, the tournament organizers had to make preparations in advance and adjust the first two rounds of the tournament.
The first round match between China U23s and UAE U23s will be held on March 23 at 4 p.m. (local time) at Dubai Stadium, a venue that is also the home of Al Ahli FC. It is worth noting that this venue has witnessed the intense clash in the first leg of the 2015 season's AFC Champions League final.
And the second round match between China U23s and Thailand U23s will be played on March 26 at 4 p.m. at the Seven Stars Stadium. Both age-group Chinese U23 teams have left their footprints at this venue.
