Chinese fans admit: 'Our luck only went so far'

On news sites like 163 and Sina, numerous Chinese fans acknowledged that their U23 team was far inferior to Japan in terms of skill level after their convincing 0-4 defeat in the U23 Asian Championship final on the night of January 24th.

Chinese goalkeeper Li Hao collapses against Japan - Photo: AFC

"China suddenly played poorly, lacking vitality. Was it due to players' exhaustion, the opponent being too strong, or overwhelming fear?", China's 163 newspaper headlined its commentary immediately after the first half of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship final.

Within the first 20 minutes, the Chinese U23 team conceded two goals against Japan, a collapse far too quick compared to the promised "super-defensive" style of play that Antonio Puche's team would once again showcase. Ultimately, they lost 4-0.

"I've said this many times, that the goalkeeper being the best player on the team proves we're not playing well, but since the team still won, what I said became meaningless. Now everyone has seen it, our U23 team didn't play well at all," a fan from Ha Nam commented harshly below this post.

Another fan quoted former Chinese football legend Dong Fangzhuo, who once criticized the Chinese U23 team as "a chocolate candy with a terrible taste," and added:

"Dong Fangzhuo was right. The only match where China played well was in the semi-finals (winning against Vietnam). Before that, we were incredibly lucky."

After the quarter-finals, former football star Dong Fangzhuo sparked controversy by criticizing his country's U23 team, saying they were "like a bad-tasting chocolate candy," and suggesting that coach Antonio Puche's team was simply lucky.

After the semi-final match, Dong had to apologize, admitting "I may have been wrong" in criticizing his team's playing style.

But now, with China losing to Japan so quickly, fans can't help but revisit the comments of this former Manchester United star.

"There's no denying the effort of the U23 players. This is still the best generation of players in many years, but we've had a lot of luck in this tournament. Luck only goes so far, because Japan is too strong," commented a fan from Guangdong.

"The luck only went so far. But this defeat still provided many valuable lessons, hopefully the coach and players will continue to move forward," another fan commented on the Sina news site.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cdv-trung-quoc-thua-nhan-chung-ta-may-man-chi-den-the-thoi-20260124224606507.htm