U23 national football team faces island countries with a population of 45,000: Ace is absent, Kuai Jiwen leads, Zhu Pengyu charges

At 19:35 pm on September 6, the second round of the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers group stage will usher in a focus game, with the Chinese U23 men's football team away against the Northern Mariana Islands U23 team. In the first round, although the Chinese team narrowly defeated East Timor 2:1, its overall performance did not meet expectations, exposing problems such as unfamiliar cooperation and untimely defense return.

Northern Mariana Islands are quite unfamiliar to Chinese fans. The country has a population of only about 45,000 and a land area of ​​460 square kilometers. Most of the football players are amateurs and their overall strength is limited. Despite this, Chinese coach Antonio dared not take it lightly and is expected to continue to send out the main lineup to fight.

The goalkeeper position is still expected to be Li Hao, and the defense line Hu Hetao, Wumi Tijiang, Liu Haofan and Wang Shiqin may continue to partner with the four defenders. In the midfield, Xu Bin was absent due to injury, Li Zhenquan and Yang Haoyu are expected to form two midfielders, Kuai Jiwen is the core of the organization in the frontcourt, and Wang Yudong and Baihe Lamu are separated from each other to support. Zhu Pengyu may be the single arrow on the front line, and Xiang Yuwang may be temporarily on the bench.

This game is crucial to the Chinese team's qualifying situation. According to the rules, the top spot in the group and the four best second places will advance to the U23 Asian Cup held in Saudi Arabia next year. Currently, the Chinese team is in the same group as Australia, East Timor and Northern Mariana Islands, and the competition with Australia may determine the final ranking.

Although the opponent is weak, the Chinese team needs to learn from the lessons of the first round, improve overall cooperation and offensive efficiency, and strive to revitalize morale with a big victory.