On the evening of April 21, 2024, Beijing time, the third round of the group stage of the U23 Asian Cup began, with the United Arab Emirates U23 facing China U23. It was a game that didn't make much sense for the U23s, as Japan and South Korea had already qualified together. At the beginning of the first half, the national football U23 was pressed and beaten by the United Arab Emirates U23, and after withstanding the pressure, the national football U23 launched a counterattack and successfully scored the first goal of the Chinese team in this tournament by Xie Wenneng. In stoppage time of the first half, the national football team U23 scored another goal. At half-time, the U23 national football team led the opponent 2-0.
The situation of the UAE U23 and the national U23 team is actually similar. The team is currently on a five-game losing streak in all competitions. In contrast, the national team Under-23s seem to be in a better position, having won three in a row before the Under-23 Asian Cup. However, this does not mean that the strength of the national football team U23 is above the UAE team.
After the start of the game, the Chinese team was continuously suppressed by the United Arab Emirates U23, and in the 6th minute, the Chinese team gave someone an "own goal", but fortunately, the goal was really first, and it was ruled invalid, which really scared the Chinese fans. As of the 11th minute, the Chinese team only attacked the ball to the opponent's penalty area line twice, but formed a one-shot shot.
Although the U23 national football team has a disadvantage, it is our national football players who score first. From the 20th minute, China U23 played a more imposing counterattack, and in the 24th minute, the national football team U23 got a corner kick opportunity, and after the tactical corner kick, Xie Wenneng volleyed in front of the store to score and rewrite the score on the field to 1-0. This goal is also the first goal scored by the national football team U23 in this U23 Asian Cup.
This goal undoubtedly gave the national football team a great encouragement to the U23s. In the 28th minute, captain Tao Qianglong also had a shot from a small angle, which was played with great quality, and was finally saved by the UAE goalkeeper. Although he was already in a real position when Tao Qiangchang got the ball, the momentum of the national football U23 finally came out.
In the final stage of first-half stoppage time, the UAE made a mistake at the back, and Liu Zhurun of the Chinese team scored another goal to rewrite the score to 2-0. At that time, the UAE goalkeeper faced this goal, and his face was full of "powerlessness".
In fact, our Chinese football players are not particularly poor in terms of technique, but they lack self-confidence in football. Before the game was played, I was afraid of being afraid of the front and back, and I was afraid that I would be attacked by domestic fans after making a mistake. So they are always afraid to change their feet, but once they know that they have no hope of qualifying, they can often play their own level in football.
Although the UAE team's attack was higher and higher, it was not until the 30th minute that the UAE team had their first shot on goal. What is the biggest significance of playing the UAE game? In fact, it is not meaningless, and the next U23 Asia will start with this tournament as a starting point, and there will be a sort. Therefore, today's game is also laying a solid foundation for the next U23 Asian Cup.