China Youth Daily client Beijing, June 26 (Zhongqing Daily · Zhongqing Net reporter Guo Jian) On the evening of June 25, the 2023 Chinese Football Association Cup ended all the third round of matches, 13 of the 16 Chinese Super League teams that appeared in this round successfully advanced to the fourth round, and 3 teams in Chengdu Rongcheng, Cangzhou Lions and Shenzhen were eliminated by lower-level league teams.
Since the FA Cup advocates "football for all", allowing lower-level teams to give priority to home stadiums, and restricting the use of foreign aid from Chinese Super League teams, the strength gap between teams of different levels has narrowed and the suspense of promotion has been greatly improved. The Chinese Second Division team Chongqing Tonglianglong hosted Chengdu Rongcheng team, because the "Sichuan-Chongqing derby" attracted great attention from the outside world, 13,217 fans came to watch the match, and finally Chongqing Tonglianglong drew 0:0 with Chengdu Rongcheng and won the subsequent penalty shootout, eliminating Chengdu Rongcheng, which is currently ranked third in the Chinese Super League standings, showing the true colors of the "dark horse" of the China B team.
Nantong Haimen Kediyuan, who also played in the China Second League, hosted Shenzhen FC, drew 1:1 in 90 minutes, won 6:5 on penalties, and advanced hand in hand with Chongqing Tongliang Long - according to the schedule, the two teams of China B will have a direct dialogue in the fourth round, which will ensure that a lower team from the China Second League advances to the last eight of the FA Cup, becoming the biggest "dark horse" of the 2023 Chinese FA Cup.
In addition to the two "dark horses" of the Chinese Second Division, this round of the FA Cup also ushered in the concentrated appearance of new managers of many teams. Beijing Guoan, under the command of new coach Suarez, won the most "economical" victory away from Zibo Qisheng 1-0; Under the command of new coach Gao Bumian, the three towns of Wuhan defeated Jiangxi Lushan 5:1, demonstrating the powerful offensive firepower of the defending champions of the Chinese Super League; The new manager of Nantong Zhiyun, Garcia, led the team to a 3-0 away win over Heilongjiang Ice City, and the result of the good start was very satisfactory to the new manager.
The eight matches of the fourth round of the FA Cup will be held on July 25-26 Beijing time, and will still be a single-game elimination system.
Outside the arena, the 2023 Chinese FA Cup "Seed Plan" public welfare activities continued to be carried out, and a number of team members walked into three competition areas in Suzhou, Chongqing and Harbin in this round, donated football to primary schools in the competition area, and carried out rich football interactive activities with primary school students - the vitality of the FA Cup lies in persistently sowing football seeds to a wide area and allowing football to take root and germinate among the whole people. (Photo courtesy of Visual China)
Source: China Youth Daily client