Chinese newspaper worries about team meeting Vietnam in U23 Asia qualifiers

In an analysis of China's prospects for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the newspaperSinacommented: "Domestic football is afraid of strong opponents." The Shanghai-based daily also said that "time is very urgent" and "the task of winning tickets to the Olympics is extremely heavy."

Since the 2008 Olympics held on home soil, China has not qualified for the men's football event at the Olympics. The task of qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics falls on the shoulders of Guus Hiddink, who is leading the Chinese U21 team. The Dutch coach must win one of the top three positions in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship to complete the goal.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has placed great emphasis on the 2020 Olympics. For the first time in history, they suspended the Super League midway because of the Olympic team. Hiddink will have two weeks in mid-October to gather his players, before going to the Netherlands to play four or five friendly matches. The 70-year-old coach will have full authority to call up his best players, without fear of clubs interfering.

The CFA’s drastic action comes after Hiddink’s complaints about the current U21 team. In the recent international friendly tournament for U21 teams held in Qujing, Yunnan in early September, China – under the guidance of domestic coach Shen Xiangfu – finished second after winning 5 points in 3 matches. In the decisive match against Uzbekistan, China were held to a 1-1 draw, and the championship was given to the Central Asian team.

This result was highly appreciated by many experts. However, new coach Guus Hiddink always looked thoughtful when watching the new games from the stands.SinaRevealing, the Dutch coach complained to a group of European reporters on the field that only six people in this squad met his requirements.

The 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers will kick off in March 2019.. Hiddink has only half a year left to complete a mountain of work, including going to the stadium to watch players, giving tactical instructions to the coaching staff and choosing a suitable squad. He also needs to make trips to Europe, using his personal relationships to convince the old continental clubs to allow Chinese players to return to serve their homeland. The number one name of the "Dutch Wizard" is striker Truong Ngoc Ninh, who joined West Brom (England) in the summer of 2017 and is currently on loan in the Netherlands, playing for ADO Den Haag.

In addition to the lineup arrangement, according toSina, Hiddink needs to "pay attention to the results of the U23 Asian qualifying draw". 43 Asian teams are divided into 10 groups, of which the East Asia region has 19 teams, including China, divided into 5 groups: 4 groups of 4 teams, and one group of 3 teams. Thailand, as the host of the final round, will host one group. The 10 group winners and 5 best second-placed teams will qualify for the final round.

China faced difficulties right from the qualifying round because the AFC will rely on the results of the 2018 AFC U23 Championship to determine the seeds. The country of 1.4 billion people was eliminated right from the group stage, and is in the second seed group. The chance of Hiddink and his team to qualify for the final round is soon challenged.

SheetSinaworried about this situation. This newspaper wrote: "The qualifying round will be very difficult, because two East Asian teams, Vietnam and South Korea, have reached the semi-finals of the 2018 U23 Asian Cup. Meanwhile, China ranked 10th out of 16 participating teams. In the group of teams in East Asia, China only ranked 8th. The team may have to face Japan, Vietnam, or a group of teams that have been very progressive recently such as Indonesia and Malaysia right from the qualifying round."Sinaemphasized: "It is very difficult for Hiddink to be able to speak with peace of mind at this time."

The Super League ends in early November. The Chinese U23 team will be called up immediately after that, aiming to have two warm-up matches this month. Hiddink will have a month of training after that. "The U23 team needs to prepare carefully and train long-term. The CFA also needs to clearly discuss with the clubs about releasing players,"Sinacomment.