With the early morning of Nov. 20, a new week kicks off in the morning sun. This week, the Green Stadium will usher in two key battles, one is the national soccer team in the preliminaries to host South Korea, the other is the AFC Cup Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua title fight. It is predicted that CCTV Sports Channel (CCTV5) will broadcast the two high-profile matches live.
On the morning of Tuesday, November 21, China will face South Korea in the second round of Group C of the second stage of the 2026 US, Canada and Mexico World Cup Asian Qualifying Tournament at the Universiade Center Stadium in Longgang, Shenzhen. Although CCTV5 has reserved time slots in its latest program schedule for live coverage of the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships in Frankfurt and highlights of the 2023/2024 World Cup of Speed Skating in Japan, it is likely that the battle between China and South Korea will be broadcast live on CCTV5 as the program is often adjusted prior to the matches according to the past practice.
Looking back at the first round of matches, South Korea thrashed Singapore 5-0 at home, with five players, including Son Heung-miao and Lee Gang-in, putting in eye-catching performances. China, on the other hand, won 2-1 against Thailand on the road with goals from Wu Lei and Wang Shangyuan. This narrow encounter is not only about the ranking of the fight, but also about the group out of the trend. Given the difference in strength between the two teams, a point will be enough for China if they can continue their good performance against Thailand on the road. If they are unlucky enough to lose, they will be able to accept it.
On November 19th, the Korean team arrived in Shenzhen. In the face of the upcoming match, the Korean team has only one goal - to get all three points. It is expected that the Chinese team will adopt a defense-oriented strategy, which will be a severe test of the Korean team's ability to break the intensive defense. It is worth noting that South Korea did not break the deadlock against Singapore in the first round until the end of the first half with Cho Kyu-sung's goal to break the deadlock. In contrast, China's defense is more solid and will undoubtedly go all out to thwart their opponents.
The preliminaries are in full swing, and the 2023 CFA Cup final will be staged at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium at 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 25th. Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua will face off in the final. According to the program preview, CCTV5 will broadcast the battle live from 4pm.
Both teams are eager to hold the trophy. Shandong Taishan, the defending champions, are eager to continue to write brilliantly and strive to realize the fourth consecutive championship. It's easy to see their ambition in their move to arrive in Suzhou six days early.
Shanghai Shenhua see the AFC Cup as their only hope after missing out on qualification for the AFC Champions League in the Chinese Super League. Coach Wu Jingui and his team will go all out to fight for the title.
It's worth noting that Shanghai Shenhua last won the AFC Cup in 2019, when they beat none other than Shandong Taishan. The coach at the time, Cui Kangxi, is now coaching Shandong Taishan. Whether or not they can pull off another comeback in this fatalistic showdown is the center of attention.
