In the late afternoon of October 26, Beijing time, the group draw for the final stage of the 2023 U20 Asian Cup was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the host country. China's 2003 age group U20 national team, which appeared as U19 national football team in the qualifying stage, was placed in the third slot in the draw, with the strong Saudi Arabia, Japan and Kyrgyzstan in the same group. Facing such a "group of death", our U20 team will not only have to do their best to fight with their opponents, but also need to rely on a certain amount of luck.
Japan had a perfect qualifying campaign, scoring 22 goals and conceding none in three wins. Saudi Arabia scored 17 goals and conceded none in their three official qualifying matches (excluding the match against hosts Uzbekistan). Kyrgyzstan lost only one of their three matches and conceded only one goal. It is worth mentioning that our U20 team was in the same group as Saudi Arabia in the qualifiers, and despite losing by 1 goal, Saudi Arabia played a tight defense against our U20 team throughout the game. Facing Japan and Saudi Arabia, our U20 team's chances of winning do not seem optimistic.
Despite the frustrating situation of the grouping, our U20 men's soccer team has not given up on competing with their opponents. It is reported that the relevant departments of China's Football Association will meet with the coaching team in the near future to discuss the subsequent preparation plan. The team plans to conduct intense overseas stretches and warm-ups in the upcoming period, with a view to improving the team's overall strength.
