In the 3rd and 4th place finals of the Dubai Cup International Football Invitational Tournament held on the evening of March 29, Beijing time, the 1999 age group of China's U23 team lost to the host UAE U23 team by a score of 0-3, thus finally ranking 4th in this tournament. Judging from the three goals conceded in the opening 5 minutes and the second half of stoppage time respectively, the U23 national football team lost this game to a large extent due to inexperience in international competitions and unstable psychological state. The results are regrettable, but the experience of the competition has taught this national youth army, which is about to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games this autumn, a lesson in time, and even issued a necessary warning. From this perspective, the Dubai Cup trip is worth a lot to the U23 national football team that aims to make a difference at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
After losing 1 goal to the UAE U23 team in the first round and defeating the Thai U23 team 4-2 in the second round, the Chinese U23 team ranked 4th in the Dubai Cup table in two rounds. According to the competition regulations, they met again with the UAE U23 team, which was temporarily ranked 3rd after two rounds, in the 3rd and 4th qualifying matches on the 29th.
As in the previous round, China U23 coach Jankovic lined up the strongest squad in the team. Including Fang Hao, who staged the "Big Four Joy" in the last round, a number of players who were competent in the Chinese Super League all made their debuts. From the beginning of the game, the team continued the hard work of the past two rounds.
However, just 5 minutes after the opening, the Chinese U23 team was coldly shot by the opponent due to the lack of relief in the penalty area. The backward U23 national football team then launched a fierce pressure on the opponent, but from the scene, the boys of the U23 national football team fought harder than enough, but they appeared to lack wisdom. There is no way to turn an advantage into a win, and even there are few opportunities for a threatening attack.
After a long time of attack, the mood of the members of the Chinese U23 team became impatient. The second half of stoppage time had just begun, and Diliimiti accidentally fouled the penalty area and "sent" a penalty to the opponent, and the opposing player easily scored the ball. This goal also completely destroyed the psychological defense of the Chinese U23 team, and some U23 football players whose emotions were further damaged tended to be rough. As a result, Liu Zhurun, who came off the bench, received a yellow card in a dispute. Under the influence of the unbalanced mentality, the Chinese team's defense line appeared again, and the opponent scored the third goal of the game with a header in the last minute of stoppage time.
Objectively speaking, the Chinese U23 team showed tenacious fighting spirit or strong will quality for most of the game, but because it did not have the opportunity to participate in international competitions for more than 2 years before the start of this tournament, it was obvious that the international competition was inexperienced, and it could even be said that it was not very adaptable to the rhythm of international competitions.
Ending the Dubai Cup tour with the result of being "double killed" by the opponent, the regrets of the Chinese U23 team can be imagined. However, compared to the record of 1 draw, 1 win and 2 losses in this western expedition (including a 1-1 draw with al-Waheda clubs in the United Arab Emirates in the warm-up match), the experience of 4 international matches itself is of greater value to the U23 national football team. Through such a game, the Chinese U23 team gradually mastered the rhythm of international competitions, and from the perspective of actual combat, the team's performance was also better than one, and such progress was exactly what head coach Jankovic was looking forward to.
Such an experience actually made the Chinese U23 team clearly recognize the current gap between its own team and other teams in Asia. For the U23 national football team, how to participate in as many high-quality matches as possible in the next preparation process is more meaningful to the preparation for the Asian Games.
Text/Beiqing Sports Xiao Zhao