2024-01-23 13:37:07
Chinese national soccer team. Yonhap News China’s elimination from the Asian Cup group stage has been confirmed.
China finished the group stage in 3rd place in Group A at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup with 2 draws and 1 loss. In three games, they failed to score a single goal and did not win a single game.
However, the possibility of advancing to the round of 16 remained. In this tournament, the 1st and 2nd place teams from 6 groups advance directly to the round of 16 tournament, and the top 4 countries among the 6 countries ranked 3rd in the group additionally receive tickets to the round of 16. There was indeed a glimmer of hope for China.
The hope was immediately dashed.
China had to beat two of the top three teams in Groups B-F. In Groups D and E, three teams have already achieved at least one win, putting them ahead of China.
China was in a situation where the Group B match between Syria and India, the Group C match between Palestine and Hong Kong, and the Group F match between Oman and Kyrgyzstan had to end in draws in order to be tied on points with Syria, Palestine, and Oman. However, in the case of Group F, Oman is unconditionally ahead of China in terms of goals (goal difference -1 tie) even if the points are the same. In the end, only a 0-0 draw between Syria and India and a draw between Palestine and Hong Kong were the only paths to the round of 16. Syria had no goals and had a goal difference of -1, while Palestine had a goal difference of -3.
China’s dream was shattered even before the Syria-India war ended.
Syria scored in the 31st minute of the second half, confirming China’s elimination from the group stage. Even if the game ends in a draw, Syria is ahead in scoring by one goal. In the end, the match ended with Syria winning 1-0. Regardless of the result of the Group C match between Palestine and Hong Kong, they failed to advance to the round of 16.
As a result, China packed its bags early with its worst record of no win in the group stage for the first time in 48 years and elimination from the group stage for the first time in 13 years.
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