On November 20, at the beginning of the new week, the Green Stadium welcomes two key matches. On the one hand, the national soccer team will host South Korea in the preliminaries, and on the other hand, Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua in the AFC Cup will fight for the title. It is predicted that CCTV sports channel (CCTV5) will broadcast these two exciting matchups.
On Tuesday (Nov. 21), China will face South Korea in the second round of Group C of the second stage of the Asian qualifiers at the Universiade Center Stadium in Longgang, Shenzhen. Although CCTV5 has arranged to broadcast other matches live, according to the usual practice, the program may be adjusted before the match, when CCTV5 will broadcast the battle between China and South Korea.
In the first round of matches, South Korea beat Singapore 5-0 at home, while China turned back Thailand 2-1 on the road. This matchup is about the competition for the top spot in the group and the exit situation. The Chinese team is a bit weaker, but if they can continue their good performance against Thailand on the road, even a one-goal win will be acceptable.
South Korea arrived in Shenzhen on Nov. 19, aiming for all three points. The Chinese team is expected to play defense and test Korea's ability to break the dense defense. Korea had a stalemate against Singapore in the first round, but Cho Kyu-sung broke the deadlock. China has a stronger defense and will be looking to stop their opponents.
The final of the AFC Cup will be played on Saturday, November 25 at 16:00 at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium. Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua will face off in the final, which will be broadcast live on CCTV5 from 16:00.
Shandong Taishan, as the defending champions, are eager for a fourth consecutive title. Shanghai Shenhua, on the other hand, sees the AFC Cup as its only hope, and coach Wu Jingui will lead the team to fight for the title. It is worth mentioning that the last time Shanghai Shenhua won the championship was in 2019, and the opponent was none other than Shandong Taishan. Now that Cui Kangxi is coaching Shandong Taishan, whether they can win the title again is a big question mark.
