After a thrilling 1-0 draw, the National Asian Football Team managed to knock out Qatar U23s to make it to the last eight. They are about to face historical rivals South Korea U23s in the quarterfinals.
Despite the fact that this National Football League Asian Games lineup contains three overage players, the overall strength is still a big gap with the South Korean U23 team. Coupled with South Korea as the defending Asian Games champion, this campaign for the National Football League Asian Games team, the challenge of the formidable self-evident.
However, the national soccer Asian Games team will still go all out to take on South Korea on the green field. Given that Jiang Shenglong and Gao Tianyi have suffered suspensions, coach Djurdjevic will adjust the starting lineup accordingly.
In the first four rounds of matches, the Asian Games team has been adhering to the "4231" formation, is expected to South Korea U23 team in the game, Djurdjevic will not be easy to change the layout of the tactics. 35-year-old center Tan Long is still the most likely starting center forward candidates.
In the midfield, Dai Weijun will continue to start at the front. Among the wingers, one is Tao Qianglong, who scored a goal in the last game, and the other is the impactful Fang Hao.
Of the two midfielders, Shenhua teenager Wang Haijian will continue to get heavy use. Given Gao Tianyi's suspension, Shanghai Harbour's Xinjiang teenager Abra Khan will partner Wang Haijian. Abra Khan, who was favored by foreign coach Leko to be Harbour's starting midfielder in the 2021 season, has become a national team regular after his highly acclaimed league performances.
Abra Khan's style of play is quite similar to Gao Tianyi's, and both of them have excellent defensive and offensive abilities. With Gao Tianyi suspended for two yellows, Djurdjevic will probably put Abra Khan in his place.
In the backline, Jiang Shenglong has had a profound impact on the national Asian Games team due to his red card in the previous game. Zhu Chenjie, who suffered a leg strain, may play with an injury and replace Jiang Shenglong in the starting center back position. Dalian's Huang Jiahui will continue to start, partnering Zhu Chenjie.
On both sides of the backline, overage player Liu Yang will hold down the starting left back position, while the right back will be played by Dalian's Wang Zhenao. He has a strong breakthrough ability and will play a key role in the right side of the national soccer team's offense.
Finally, Beijing Guoan's Han Jiaqi is expected to be the starting goalkeeper for the national soccer team for the Asian Games. Despite his occasional mistakes, Han Jiaqi is a big-game player who can play consistently at key moments. Under pressure, he tends to be more solid.
In recent matches, Han Jiaqi has performed well without making cheap mistakes and has an aura about him that inspires his teammates, which will be crucial for the upcoming matches.
The quarterfinals of the men's U23 Asian Games in South Korea will kick off at 8:00 p.m. Beijing time on October 1 and will be broadcast live on CCTV Sports.
Although the National Football Asian Games team is not a constant winner, they won 1 and lost 1 in their warm-up match against South Korea in June this year. Therefore, the possibility of beating the South Korean U23s is not out of reach. By then, expect fans to cheer on these young players through their TV screens!
