When everyone was looking forward to it, the qualifiers for the 2024 Asian Cup were finally about to begin, but what everyone didn't expect was that such a dark horse appeared on the first day, which plunged the whole of Asia into chaos.
For fans who often watch the Chinese men's football team, this "dark horse" that suddenly appeared is Tajikistan in Central Asia. Since Tajikistan and China were in Group A, the two teams were in a game, and the central defender Zhu Chenjie took a corner kick, but the referee thought that the opponent fouled in the game and did not cause too much trouble to the opponent, and the two teams ended up playing 0:0. This draw, however, will move the two teams in completely different directions.
China were eliminated 1-1 in the group stage, while Tajikistan beat Lebanon in a big comeback to reach the round of 16 in Asia. The opponent in the group stage is the United Arab Emirates, the semi-finals of the last Asian Cup, so many fans believe that the UAE can easily defeat Tajikistan and enter the quarterfinals. But the next scene surprised everyone. The UAE have a big advantage on paper, but Tajikistan has been very good in this game. In the 30th minute of the game, the Tajikistan team extended the score to 1:0 with a goal from central defender Khanunov.
At the start of the second half, the UAE began to fight back, but in stoppage time, they equalised with a free-kick, which was also the first extra-time in Asia. However, with the consumption of physical energy, neither side created too many chances in extra time, and the game was forced to a penalty shootout. Tajikistan beat the UAE 5-3 with an aggregate score of 6-4, which was also their first Asian Cup appearance, and they also reached the quarterfinals!
And Indonesia, the underdog team that "lay" into the round of 16, also failed to create any miracles, in the match with the championship favorite Australia, they conceded four goals in the second half in a row, 0-4 eliminated, and missed the round of 16. Although it lost, the performance of the Indonesian team made many people cheer. In the face of a team that was much stronger than them, they did not adopt the tactic of "putting on a show", but bravely launched an attack. Although the result of this match was embarrassing, the Indonesian made his mark in this game!
The excellent results of Tajikistan and Indonesia have made the Chinese men's football team a foil again. While Asian teams have made great strides, it seems that only Chinese football is still standing still. Maybe it won't be long before Tajikistan and Indonesia will become our biggest competitors in Asia, and if they want to win the championship again, it's a dream!