At 21 o'clock on April 22, Beijing time, the third round of Group B of the 2024 U23 Asian Cup will be held at the same time, with the South Korean team playing against the Japanese team and the U23 national football team (National Olympic Team) playing against the United Arab Emirates team. Among them, the South Korean team defeated the Japanese team 1-0 with Kim Min-woo's goal to win three consecutive wins and qualify for the first place in the group. The Olympic team defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-1 to achieve the team's second victory in the history of the U23 Asian Cup.
It should be pointed out that the last time the national Olympic team won the U23 Asian Cup was back on January 9, 2018, when the U23 national football team coached by Lippi defeated Oman 3-0 with goals from Yang Liyu, Li Xiaoming and Wei Shihao, which was also the first victory in the history of the U23 national football team in the competition. Before this campaign, the national Olympic team only achieved 1 win and 13 losses in the U23 Asian Cup, and this game is also the second victory of the national Olympic team in this competition.
In the battle for the top spot between the Japanese team and the South Korean team, the two teams attacked and defended each other, and the Japanese team had a slight advantage. According to the data, Japan had 61% possession and 15 shots on goal with 2 on target, while South Korea had 3 shots on target despite only 6 shots, which was more efficient. In the 75th minute of the game, South Korea took a corner kick, and Kim Min Woo jumped high to score the goal with his header to help South Korea score the winning goal. In the 97th minute, Japan almost equalized, but unfortunately Megumi Sato's header hit the post and bounced.
In the end, South Korea defeated Japan 1-0 and won the first place in the group. In the quarterfinals, South Korea will face Indonesia, the second place in Group A, while Japan will face the host Qatar team, and the situation is not optimistic.
In the first two rounds, the UAE team and the U23 national football team both lost 2 consecutive times, the national Olympic team lost 0-1 to the Japanese team, and lost 0-2 to the South Korean team. The UAE lost 1-0 to South Korea and 2-0 to Japan. The two teams can be described as half a catty, and the strength is close. However, the national Olympic team played really well in this game.
In the 24th minute of the game, the national Olympic team took a corner kick, the UAE defenders were not far away, and the 23-year-old star Xie Wenneng from Luneng finally seized the opportunity to volley and score a goal to help the national Olympic team lead 1-0.
In the 39th minute, the national Olympic team's shot was blocked by the UAE player with his arm, and the referee awarded a penalty, but then VAR intervened to cancel the penalty and yellow card, and finally did not even give a corner kick, and the national Olympic team missed a good opportunity to expand the score. In the 50th minute, the national Olympic team still seized the opportunity, the UAE made a mistake in the backfield, and SIPG teenager Liu Zhurun calmly volleyed after a steal, and the national Olympic team led 2-0. Just three minutes into the second half, the UAE counterattacked with a long pass, and Fazi scored a goal back.
In the end, the national Olympic team defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-1 and rose to third place in the standings, and the United Arab Emirates was at the bottom of the third consecutive defeat. In the 2020 U23 Asian Cup, the national Olympic team lost 3 consecutive losses and scored 0 goals, and in this competition, the national Olympic team finally made a breakthrough. (Xiong Yixuan)