The result of the 0:2 defeat to South Korea U23 in the National Olympic Games was expected by me, and we could announce our return home one round earlier!
In the matchup between China and South Korea, although the result was not satisfactory, our U23 national Olympic team was not without bright spots. Their performance may be inadequate, but it should not be dismissed entirely. Especially in the first half, although there are some problems, the U23 national Olympic team has shown some improvement compared to last year's senior national football team against South Korea in Shenzhen. In that senior national football match, the Chinese team did not have a single shot on target in the whole game, while the opponent had 18 shots on goal, and that kind of scene really made people feel desperate.
In contrast, the U23 team has had at least nine shots on goal in recent matches, five of which were on target, which partly reflects the team's progress in attack, daring to play defensive counter-attacks against strong teams and dare to take the initiative to attack, unlike our senior national football team who will only defend like turtles.
Although those shots did not translate into goals, at least in terms of creating chances, the Under-23s improved over the senior national team. However, hesitation and indecisiveness in front of goal are still areas for the U23 team to improve. In the decisive moments, the players seemed to lack that composure and confidence, which led to five great chances slipping away in the first half. This phenomenon of "weak legs" as soon as they arrive at the goal is a problem that the team must face up to and solve. Overall, although the U23 national Olympic team still has a lot of room for improvement in seizing opportunities in front of goal, they have shown some potential and improvement compared to the senior national team. I hope that our group of players can exercise more in the league, don't pull out the training camp anymore, really have to grasp the ability to be so poor what can be trained in the training camp?
Coach Cheng Yaodong is really a god-level substitution again, 82 minutes to replace the substitute goalkeeper Jin Yong to play the center, two goals behind, he chose to replace a player who mainly relies on standing headers I have to wonder if he is a genius coach or has any grievances against the Taishan team, a goalkeeper is alive to change to a high school striker, to some extent, replacing a player who mainly relies on standing pile headers can indeed increase the team's threat in the opponent's penalty area. However, was it too risky to make such a substitution at 82 minutes, and we can't ignore the fact that there was plenty of time to change the course of the game in stoppage time. At this point, the coach should think about how to stabilize the situation and strive for a draw or even a reversal victory.
The timing of the substitutions is crucial and can affect the outcome of the game. With the team trailing by two goals at the 82nd minute, would it be possible to quickly change the course of the game by replacing a player who only relies on headers?
Of course, each coach has their own unique tactical ideas and philosophies, and we can't say for sure whether their decisions are right or wrong. But our players are still young, and they will definitely be "late bloomers" in the future, but the coach is a real thing, so there is no need to scold those players, and there will still be a low point in our future.