On the Asian soccer map, for Chinese soccer fans, the country of Uzbekistan maintains a deep friendship with our country. The country sends referees with a style very different from those in the Middle East, who are impartial and add a sense of trust to the game. It is particularly worth mentioning that our fans are no strangers to the referee, Ilgiz Tantashev, who has officiated our men's soccer matches on two occasions - in the World Qualifier in October 2021, when the Chinese team lost 2-3 to Saudi Arabia, and in the 2019 East Asian Cup, when the Chinese team lost 1-2 to Japan. Despite the fact that our men's soccer team failed to win in both tournaments, Tantashev's enforcement was fair and impartial, without bias, and treated our team equally, making the team win despite the defeat without any complaints.
In the life-and-death match between China and Thailand, our men's soccer team once again welcomed the fair and objective referee from Uzbekistan. This is undoubtedly a great encouragement to the Chinese men's soccer team, which is eager for victory. This news removes the last psychological barrier for the national soccer team, allowing them to devote themselves to the game and give it their all. We sincerely hope that the national soccer team will be able to win this crucial battle and successfully advance to the 18th round of the preliminaries.
