U23 Asian Cup: Thailand U23 vs China U23! Over 10 players absent on their side, so why am I still worried about the Chinese team?

Today, let's start withthe U23 Asian Cup: Thailand U23 vs China U23

If this match was in the first or second round, the outcome would likely be clear.

Because Thailand’s lineup is really poor, with many main players missing.

Keep in mind: they are missing 13 to 15 players!

Among them are 7 key players including captain Ratree, Southeast Asia Golden Boot winner Breraphat, defensive core Buapan, and the qualifying hero Kamyok.

Moreover, among those who did arrive, there are 2 suspended and 1 unexpectedly injured... Among the 13 to 15 absent players, at least 10 are main starters!

It’s unavoidable because the Thai league is still ongoing. Clubs have the right and are unwilling to release players. They gave them up last month, but then got eliminated by Vietnam in the Southeast Asian Games? Isn’t that a waste of resources?

On our side, this is at least the strongest squad in the past decade.

Not only are many regular starters in the Chinese Super League, but players like Wang Yudong, Baihelamu, and Hu Hetao are actual first-team national players!

Note: The Thai national team usually can’t beat us.

Now it’s just Thailand U23, missing 10 key players, facing our squad which includes several first-team national players. How can they compete?

But there is one frustrating aspect about this match—This is the third round, and a draw will see us through.

A draw to qualify is a curse that many veteran fans dread.

Historically, there have been many times when drawing to qualify ended in failure, which is truly worrying.

Of course, in the past many opponents were strong teams like South Korea, Qatar, Uzbekistan, so losing was somewhat expected.

But this time, the gap between us and Thailand is huge, so our chances to qualify look very good.

However, I am concerned,will we play too cautiously?

Coach Antonio has experience leading teams in “draw to qualify” matches.

In March 2023, during the U20 Asian Cup group stage,

in the last round, he led China U20 against Kyrgyzstan U20, also needing only a draw to advance.

How did they play then?

After the opponent scored an own goal from outside the box, we took a 1-0 lead but then became very passive, mainly defending.

Possession was only 32%, Kyrgyzstan had 13 corners, and eventually they equalized 1-1.

Although 1-1 was enough to qualify.

But we didn’t win.

Antonio himself openly said:The tactical plan was defense-first, focusing firmly on counter-attacks.

The formation was defensive like 5-3-2 or 4-2-3-1.

We can see his teams defend well against strong opponents: U20 drew Korea and narrowly lost to Japan; now with U23, they have kept clean sheets against Korea and Iraq.

However, proactive attacking has always been a weak point for the Chinese teams at all levels.

Thailand’s team is technically skilled, with smooth and fast counter-attacks. If we try to attack actively, our efficiency might be low and our defense could be at risk.

Here lies a key point—Our defense is not fully intact.

All five defenders have some issues:

Captain Liu Haofan missed the first two rounds due to injury; Wumitiang got injured in the last game; Bao Shimeng was injured in the first round; Zhang Aihui just recovered last match and came on as a substitute; Peng Xiao played injured in the first round;

If our defense was healthy, we wouldn’t fear Thailand.

But if the defense is not fully fit and we still try to attack actively, it could be risky.

Today’s match puts a lot of pressure on us; it’s a game where we cannot afford mistakes.

Matches where you cannot afford to lose and only need a draw are actually quite difficult to play.

So, although the gap on paper is huge, can Thailand U23 satisfy the fans? What do you think? I’m quite worried they won’t lose at least.

Alright, for other matches today, I will still share my written views tonight. If anything is unclear, feel free to ask me. “Watch the game clearly,” see you there!

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