On the evening of September 9, at Xi'an International Football Center, 33,622 spectators witnessed the key match between the Chinese U23 men's football team and the Australian U23 Asian Cup qualifiers. This game will determine who can advance to the U23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia next year.
The situation before the game is clear: both teams have won 6 points in both games, but Australia ranks first in the group with the advantage of 20 goals, and the Chinese team ranks second with 11 goals. According to the rules, the top spot in the group and the second in the four best-achieved groups can advance, which means that the Chinese team only needs to draw to qualify for a high probability.
Chinese team head coach Antonio adopted a pragmatic tactical strategy and arranged a "532" formation that focused on defense. Xu Bin, the main midfielder who missed the first two rounds of the game due to injury, returned from injury, and Wang Yudong and Baihe Lamu partnered on the front line. The goalkeeper's position was also adjusted, and Li Hao returned to the starting lineup.
After the start of the game, both sides played very cautiously. The Australian team has the dominance of the ball and is constantly looking for opportunities for infiltration, but the Chinese team's formation remains stable and has repeatedly resolved the opponent's offense. Throughout the first half, the scene seemed dull and neither side created a clear scoring opportunity. Data shows that the Chinese team did not complete the goal in the first half, with less than 30% of the ball possession rate; the Australian team only had two shots and did not shoot directly.
After the second half, Australia stepped up its offensive. In the 49th minute, Australian team Priestman got an excellent opportunity in the penalty area. His volley was saved by Chinese goalkeeper Li Hao, which was the most threatening goal in the game. The subsequent game was once again at a deadlock, with the two teams making frequent pass mistakes and lacking smooth cooperation. Although the Australian team has the advantage in possession of the ball, it lacks threatening passes; the Chinese team adheres to the defensive counterattack strategy and focuses on maintaining the compact formation.
In the 81st minute of the game, a small episode appeared on the court. Chinese team Wang Shiqin and Australian team Rick had an argument while competing for position in front of the goal. The players of both sides broke out in a brief physical conflict, but it was quickly calmed down. Since then, the Chinese team made its first substitution, with the goal of strengthening defense and maintaining a draw.
End, the score of 0 to 0 remained until the end of the game. Technical statistics from the whole game show that the Australian team shot 5 times and 11 corner kicks; the Chinese team shot 0 times and did not get a corner kick opportunity.
After another match in the same group, East Timor defeated the Northern Mariana Islands 6-0, the final standings of Group D were released: Australia and China scored 7 points, Australia ranked first in the group with a goal difference advantage, and China ranked second. As the Chinese team became one of the four best-performing groups among the 11 groups, they successfully advanced to next year's U23 Asian Cup.
After the game, Chinese coach Antonio affirmed the team's performance: "The whole game was very difficult, and the joy brought by promotion was very great. Chinese football needs joy, and I think everyone did this time."
Korean media "OSEN" criticized the game: The game was reported on the title "Which team is this?", bluntly stated that this draw did not stem from the outstanding performance of the Chinese team, but because the Australian team performed poorly and missed decisive opportunities many times.
The report also specifically mentioned the "sluggish state" and "small offense" shown by the Chinese team in the first two games against East Timor and Northern Mariana Islands.Australia missed decisive opportunities many times, and neither team organized a threatening offensive, and the game fell into a boring tug-of-war.
Try to question the qualifications of the Chinese team to advance. In addition, another Korean media MK Sports described the scene of the Chinese team coaching team hugging and celebrating after the game "as if they won the World Cup."
Antonio believes that this is a manifestation of the team's successful tactical execution, not the so-called "tacity".
Compared with foreign media, domestic responses are generally positive. A reporter said: "The result is the most important thing. As long as you can advance to the Asian Cup, it's enough. Chinese football is too difficult, and the current situation does not allow us to have higher requirements."
Expert Zhu Yi believes: "The coaching staff has made sufficient preparations in tactical terms and the players have also performed well. Australia is the opponent we can deal with."
This game is the 6th time that the Chinese U23 men's football team has advanced to the U23 Asian Cup. They will compete in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to 25 next year.
