0-2 upset!1-0 stunner!The West Asian powerhouse fell, and South Korea scored a goal in the 94th minute to push the national football team into a desperate situation
In the early morning of April 17, Beijing time, the 2024 U23 Asian Cup continued, and Group C broke out with an upset, with the West Asian powerhouse Iraq losing 0-2 to Thailand, and at the same time, in the first round of Group B, South Korea scored 1-0 in 94 minutes to defeat the United Arab Emirates.
A total of 16 teams participated in this U23 Asian Cup, divided into four groups, the final two of each group qualified, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Thailand, Tajikistan are also in Group C, Group B 4 teams are China, Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, on paper strength analysis, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Japan and South Korea, respectively, Group C and Group B are the favorites. In the first round of the group stage, Iraq played against Thailand, and South Korea played against the United Arab Emirates.
The match between Iraq and Thailand, after the opening, the Iraqi team had the upper hand, but in the 26th minute of the game, it was the Thai team that took the lead in scoring the goal, the Thai team hoisted a high ball from the left side of the front field into the Iraqi team's penalty area, Garnier from the Lyon academy assisted, Varys inserted a flanking push at the back point, the Thai team took a 1-0 lead, and the Thai team scored the first goal of Group C.
Yibian fought again, the Iraqi team that was one goal behind was on the offensive, but the Thai team that was bombarded indiscriminately scored another goal in the 65th minute of the game to extend the lead, and Varys, who had scored the first goal for the Thai team, sent an assist, and Waris's corner kick accurately found Tilasha who was ambushed in the penalty area, and Tilasha's header from close range broke the goal! After conceding the second goal, the Iraqi team's mentality became impetuous, in an attack, Nihad fouled in the obvious loss of the ball, 2 yellow to 1 red was sent off, the Iraqi team with one less player completely lost hope of reversal, this West Asian team finally fell 0-2! The whole data, the Iraqi team was comprehensively superior, but the Thai team won the victory with 7-22 shots on goal and 43%-57% possession.
In the first round of Group B, South Korea played against the United Arab Emirates. In the first half, Ahn Jae-joon scored the first goal in the 18th minute of the game, but the referee ruled that the goal was offside, and the goal was disallowed, and the South Korean team missed the opportunity to take the lead. In the second half, South Korea continued to threaten the UAE goal from long range and set-pieces, but both the header in front of goal and the long-range shot from the edge of the box missed the goal. It wasn't until the game entered injury time that the South Korean team finally broke the deadlock, in the 94th minute, a corner kick opportunity from the front, the 1.9-meter-tall substitute high school striker Lee Yongjun scored with a header, and the South Korean team scored a 1-0 goal in stoppage time to beat the United Arab Emirates!
The South Korean team scored all three points, which is tantamount to forcing the national football team into a desperate situation! In another first-round match in Group B that ended earlier, the Chinese team lost 0-1 to the Japanese team, that is to say, after the end of the first round, the South Korean team and the Japanese team both ranked first and second with 3 points, the national football team and the United Arab Emirates are 0 points, the next second round of games, once the Japanese team defeats the United Arab Emirates, and the South Korean team defeats the Chinese team, then the Chinese team will lose the hope of qualifying from the group one round in advance, and the national football team has only one way to save itself: an upset victory over the South Korean team, which is too difficult for the Chinese team with a total record of 1 win and 12 losses in the U23 Asian Cup。