Photo: VCG
The Chinese national under-23 football team will take on Vietnam on Tuesday in the semifinals of the U23 Asian Cup, a matchup that has been framed as a clash of contrasting tactical philosophies. The Chinese team has advanced further than any of its predecessors at this level. A success story built on defensive discipline and competitive pragmatism.
Across four matches, they have conceded no goals in regular play while scoring just once, a statistical profile that has drawn criticism, even ridicule. However, it has also delivered results. In knockout football, especially at the youth level, effectiveness often trumps aesthetics.
Defensively, China have been exceptionally organized. The back line has held its shape, the midfield has protected central zones with discipline, and goalkeeper Li Hao has emerged as the tournament’s defining figure. His shot-stopping performance against Uzbekistan, capped by decisive saves in the penalty shootout, turned a marginal game into a historic breakthrough.
Vietnam’s quarterfinal victory over the United Arab Emirates offered a revealing case study. They led twice, were pegged back twice, and eventually prevailed 3-2 after extra time. On paper, conceding two headed goals exposed their disadvantage, but their control of the flow of the game told a very different story.
Vietnam were largely in control. Their overall passing rhythm, positional awareness and ability across the pitch to receive and pass the ball under pressure were notably superior. The two goals conceded came not from systematic collapse but from aerial mismatches.
What stood out even more was how “complete” the team looked. Vietnam are no longer a side that relies on moments or spirit alone. The past year saw them holding an unbeaten record against China in two friendlies, including a 1-0 win at the Panda Cup in November.
They now operate on a consistently high technical baseline, while also possessing standout individuals, most notably Nguyen Dinh Bac, the 21-year-old who has already made appearances with the Vietnamese senior national team. Though Bac was not at his best form due to injury, his decisiveness and match confidence has given the Vietnam team a cutting edge.
Even though certain physical limitations cannot be fixed overnight, the Vietnamese team’s technique is something players can actively acquire through training, and Vietnam’s steady rise over the past decade, including a second-place finish at the U23 Asian Cup in 2018, reflects a long-term belief in technique-driven development. Playing against a Chinese side that has so far thrived on denying space rather than creating it, the Vietnamese team’s technical assurance poses a very different kind of challenge.
However, a shift in mentality also reflects the Chinese team’s own reassessment of what this run has become. Chinese player Liu Haofan told reporters on Monday that initially the Chinese team’s goal at the tournament was very simple – to qualify into the knockout stage – but now there has been a change of plan as the team has begun to set its sights on the finals.
Vietnam will likely control possession, circulate the ball patiently and test China’s defensive concentration through movement rather than physical force. China, by contrast, will aim to compress space, disrupt the other team’s rhythm, and drag the match into uncomfortable territory, ideally one decided by set pieces, transitions, or even penalties.
There is no guarantee that pragmatism will prevail. Vietnam’s technical advantage is real, and their attacking volume may eventually break through. At the same time, China’s defensive resolve has yet to crack, and tournament football often rewards the side that can endure longer.
Regardless of the results, the deeper lesson lies beyond the match. Vietnam’s progress suggests that sustained investment in technical training can reshape a nation’s football identity. China’s run, meanwhile, shows that discipline, structure and competitive realism can still open doors that once seemed permanently closed.
For China U23, reaching the semifinals is already a breakthrough. What comes next will determine whether this team is remembered merely as disciplined overachievers, or as the starting point of something more sustainable.
The author is a reporter with the Global Times. [email protected]
