Chinese newspaper: 'Fans' hearts froze after U23 Asia draw'

Many Chinese media outlets are pessimistic as the home team is in Group B with Japan, South Korea and UAE at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals.

Table A	Table B	Table C	Table D
Qatar	Japan	Saudi Arabia	Uzbekistan
Australia	Korea	Iraq	Vietnam
Jordan	UAE	Thailand	Kuwait
Indonesia	China	Tajikistan	Malaysia

China U23 just played two friendly matches with Tajikistan in Fujian province on November 19 and November 22, losing 1-2 and drawing 0-0 respectively. Therefore, their fans have less confidence in Cheng Yaodong and his team.

Modern Express+ newspaper also said that China was unlucky to be in a group with three opponents who were the strongest in each seed group. They blamed the home team for not qualifying for the 2022 AFC U23 Championship, so they fell into the bottom seed group at the 2024 tournament. According to the regulations, the division of seed groups for the AFC U23 Championship is based on the teams' achievements in the previous tournament.

China after losing 0-1 to Iran in the group stage of the AFC U23 Championship in Songkhla, Thailand on January 15, 2020. Photo: CGTN

In its report on the draw results, Chinese newspaper Sina (Tan Lang) wrote: "Group B is actually a bit difficult, if China wants to enter the quarter-finals."

Sina is one of China's largest newspapers, with monthly traffic often exceeding 100 million, according to SimilarWeb . At the end of the article, they also had to admit that China's chances of participating in the 2024 Olympics are "really difficult".

However, there are also optimistic views. Football expert Ma Dexing believes that being in a group with strong teams like South Korea or Japan could be a positive point for China. Ma is deputy editor-in-chief of the country's Sports Weekly magazine and is known for his multi-faceted commentary. He believes that China will certainly be considered underdogs by the opponents in the group. "Therefore, the group stage results look good for us," he said. "No one will expect China to advance, so the players will release all the pressure and fight with all their might.

Ma gave the example of the Chinese team participating in the AFC U20 Championship in Uzbekistan in March 2023, which was drawn in a group with Japan, Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan. He said that everyone thought China would go home early, but they beat Saudi Arabia to reach the quarterfinals. "Since China is not under any pressure at the AFC U23 Championship, who dares to say that we have absolutely no chance of advancing?", Ma emphasized.

The AFC U-23 Championship is held every two years and serves as the final qualifying round for the Olympics in the years that coincide with the Games. The 2024 AFC U-23 Championship will take place from April 15 to May 3 in Qatar. The top three teams will qualify for the 2024 Olympics, while the fourth-placed team will play a play-off match against African side Guinea for a place in Paris. China have never advanced beyond the group stage at the AFC U-23 Championship.

Hoang An

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