An own goal helps China enter the quarterfinals of the Asian U20

The 2-0 victory over the defending champion Saudi Arabia in the previous round opened the door for China to continue. However, Antonio Puche's teachers and students still had to go through tense moments, when Kyrgyzstan played dominating, controlling the ball more than 67% and launching 17 shots.

In the defensive position, China suddenly scored in the 58th minute, after a quick counterattack. Afrden Aquer turned the ball fast on the left wing when approaching the penalty area, then passed it across. Berberdinov thought he had time to retreat, but his clearance flew straight into the net to create an unbelievable own goal.

Minutes later, China advocated a solid defense and only conceded in the 88th minute with Zhenishbekov's goal. A 1-1 draw was just enough for China to reach the quarterfinals because in the other match, Saudi Arabia lost 1-2 to Japan.

After three matches, China had four points and ranked second in Group D. Two of the team's four goals were scored by the opponent's own goal, and Puche's students also deployed the best counterattack in the tournament. Meanwhile, Japan ranked first in Group D and is the only team to win all three matches in the group stage of the AFC U20 Championship 2023. In the quarterfinals, China will face South Korea, and Japan will face Jordan.

China entered the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2014 tournament, then still called the U19 Asian Finals. China then had the same table as Japan, Korea and Vietnam. The team also unexpectedly won Japan 2-1, then drew the remaining two matches to win tickets to the quarterfinals.

Historically, China has won the Asian U20 Championship in 1985, won the second place in 1982, 1996 and 2004. After two consecutive eliminations from the group stage, Chinese football has found its flourishing from youth football.