'낯두꺼운' 中, 유효슈팅 0개로 4강행 "이게 강철 만리장성이다"... 120 minutes: Mental victory over 'Civilized Soccer'

*This content was translated by AI.

"It is a victory for the defense of the Great Wall of Steel that surprised Asia."

China's U-23 national team, led by head coach Antonio Puche, won the penalty shootout 4-2 after drawing 0-0 regular time in the quarterfinals of the "2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup" against Uzbekistan at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 17th (Korea time).

China, which advanced to the semifinals of the tournament for the first time in its history, will compete with Vietnam, led by head coach Kim Sang-sik, for the final. China has advanced to the finals five times before, but all of them have been eliminated in the group stage.

China has scored only one goal in a total of four games from the group stage to the quarterfinals on the day. Against Iraq (0-0), Australia (1-0), and Thailand (0-0), they reached the quarterfinals with one win and two draws and second place in Group D, where they met Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan reached the quarterfinals with an overwhelming performance of 2 wins and 1 draw, including a 2-0 defeat of South Korea led by head coach Lee Min-sung in Group B, and was considered a favorite. Uzbekistan's dominance was predicted as it was ahead of China in the previous record with two wins.

However, China fought back with practical soccer. He lowered the defensive line deep with a 5-3-2 formation. Wang Yu-dong and Abdouweri were placed in front, and virtually all came out in a form close to defense. It has built a dense formation from the midfield to the defense.

Uzbekistan launched a wave offensive 4-2-3-1. With Sidov at the forefront, he pushed China for 120 minutes. It was a one-sided advantage, with a possession rate of 71:29 and a shooting count of 28:6 (8-0 effective shooting), but in the end, it failed to score a goal.

In the penalty shootout, China missed only No. 4 kicker Yang Hawi, while Uzbekistan missed No. 3 Karimov and No. 4 Abdullayev, and China won the game.

When China reached the semifinals for the first time, local media could not hide their excitement. China's 'Sohu Dotcom' praised it as "a victory for the defense of the Great Wall of Steel that surprised Asia." "Although we gave up the possession, it is a perfect tactical victory for coach Puche, who brought a realistic victory," he said.

In particular, regarding the 'strange' result of winning without recording a single effective shot in 120 minutes, he said, "Football is, after all, a sport that speaks by score. "It was the best tactic in itself not to lose a point against Uzbekistan," he interpreted positively.

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*This content was translated by AI.