The qualifiers for the U23 Asian Cup have all ended. In this qualifier, the Chinese men's football team did not disappoint everyone anymore. They tied the Australian team 0-0 in the last round, and finally broke through with an unbeaten record of 2 wins and 1 draw, and entered next year's main match. And some people are happy and some are worried. The Chinese team has not lost its chain, but many strong teams are blocked outside the main competition.
In the last U23 Asian Cup, the Indonesian team emerged and became the biggest dark horse. They not only successfully broke through the group stage, but also defeated the South Korean team in the subsequent knockout round and entered the semi-finals incredibly. However, in this qualifier, the Indonesian team did not replicate the highlights of the previous game. In the first round of the qualifiers, they were unexpectedly tied by Laos 0-0, and the situation of qualifying also took a sharp turn for the worse. In the last round, facing his old rival South Korea, Indonesia lost 0-1 to his opponent when he had to win to advance, and announced in advance that he missed the U23 Asian Cup main match next year.
The other players who missed the main competition are Malaysia and Tajikistan, who have been in recent U23 Asian Cups. Both teams ranked third in the group with a record of 1 win and 2 losses. It can also be seen that the football talents of the two countries have shown a significant downward trend in the past two years. The most regrettable among the eliminated teams is undoubtedly the Indian team. They ultimately lost to the UAE team because of the number of goal difference and failed to get the ticket to the main game.
In this qualifier, a total of seven teams broke through with a complete victory, and the best performance was our East Asian neighbor South Korea. They scored 13 goals in three games and did not lose a single goal, and their performance on both ends of the offense and defense was perfect.
Among all participating teams, the Australian team with the strongest offensive firepower is the same group as the Chinese team. They scored 20 goals in three games, with an astonishing 6.6 goals per game. But it is worth mentioning that facing the Australian with such strong attack firepower, the Chinese team stubbornly tied the opponent and got a valuable point from the Australian team.
Although the Chinese team's performance in this qualifier can only be considered unsatisfactory. Especially in the first round of the game against the weak Cambodia team, the Chinese team almost failed, and finally narrowly defeated the opponent 2-1, and luckily took away 3 points. Fortunately, in the last round of strong dialogue with Australia, the Chinese men's football team re-prove themselves with tenacious defense. When fighting against top Asian teams, we also have the power to fight!
