On this exciting night of January 29, a thrilling matchup was staged in the knockout stage of the men's World Cup of the Asian Cup. The Chinese men's football team competed fiercely with Tajikistan and the United Arab Emirates in the same group, and after 120 minutes of fierce battle, the two sides still did not have a winner, and finally decided through a penalty shootout.
Tajikistan goalkeeper Yadimov saved a second penalty at a crucial moment to thrash the UAE 6-4 on aggregate and advance to the quarter-finals of the Asian Championship in history, where they will face the winner between Iraq and Jordan in the next round.
In the first half, Nadir fired a free-kick off the post and Ramadan went off injured, before Yurabayev set up Khanonov's header and Canedo missed a crucial chance to shoot.
In the second half, the referee did not give a penalty for Canedo's violation, and Jalilov went to the meeting alone but failed to break through the opponent's goal, and even failed to grasp the opportunity to outflank the empty goal; Saleh's brilliant assist helped Hamadi equalise and send the game to extra time.
In extra time, Ghassani's sharp shot was firmly held by the opposing goalkeeper, and the tense and exciting atmosphere of the game continued to escalate. Until the penalty shoot-out, Canedo missed a penalty, but Shukurov calmly converted the winning penalty.
As the night drops and the temperature plummets, the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Doha is in full swing. Tajikistan coach Segert, known as the "Einstein of football" because of his unique appearance, was lifted high by the team after the game, and even more than 10,000 Emirati fans in the stadium were moved, and the 1-1 draw in 90 minutes showed Tajikistan's tenacity and spirit.
As a newcomer to the Asian Cup finals for the first time, Tajikistan, with a population of less than 10 million, performed a miracle by successfully breaking through to the group stage and reaching the quarter-finals in one fell swoop, writing a new chapter in the history of their country's football.
Some netizens jokingly said that if the national football team can achieve such results, it can really be said that it has been drawn. In fact, Tajikistan may seem to be behind in the world rankings (currently 106th) in recent years, but they were able to win their first group game with a 2-1 win over Lebanon in their last group game, and as Qatar beat China in the other game in the same group, Tajikistan qualified for the knockout stage as group runners-up.
Defensively, Tajikistan have been solid, conceding just five goals in their last six games in all competitions, and only two goals in the three group games of this Asian Cup. In contrast, the UAE, ranked 64th in the world, also has a decent defensive prowess, with a squad dominated by players from two of the country's biggest clubs, Al Ain and Peninsular Abu Dhabi.
The UAE are a strong attack, scoring 19 goals in the last 10 games in all competitions, an average of nearly two goals per game, and have scored in each of the group games of this Asian Cup.
However, while the UAE excelled in terms of possession of the ball in the half, their defence was shaky, failing to keep a clean sheet in all three group games, and they were unable to keep a clean sheet even against Hong Kong, a weaker attacking team.
Tajikistan's results in three consecutive Asian Youth Championships and Asian Junior Championships are better than China's, and despite suffering a small exit in the U20 Asian Cup last year, their youth training system has gradually given birth to a group of skilled and fluent first-class generations, and it is not surprising that they reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup.
Further into the topic of youth training, Tajikistan players play abroad and choose Uzbekistan, Iran and Russia and other Central Asian and Eastern European leagues, and 17 players in this Asian Cup squad are from domestic leagues.
Although the overall level of the Tajikistan league may not be as good as that of the Chinese Super League, the outstanding performance of their domestic players and foreign players in the Asian Cup has undoubtedly exposed some problems in the development of Chinese football - youth training is not the only excuse for all problems, and perhaps there is a greater gap between the two countries in the training path and method of players over the age of 16 and 17 after entering the professional league.
Chinese football has not yet provided a clear answer to the question of how to continue to effectively develop players after they enter the professional stage, which is worth pondering.