Pre-match speech
U23 Uzbekistan team head coach, Ravshan Khaydarov, is setting a goal to win the championship, while his colleague from U23 China, Antonio Puche, expects his team to make history after reaching the knockout stage for the first time.
Khaydarov led U23 Uzbekistan to the top of Group C, while U23 China ranked second in Group D.
Before the quarter-final match, coach Khaydarov emphasized that the match against U23 China is the most important match since the beginning of the tournament on the journey to conquer the championship.
He said: "The recovery process has been completed and we have had two training sessions. We have analyzed not only the opponent but also the group stage matches. We will be missing Nurlan Ibraimov due to suspension, but the team has a very good replacement.
We have known the Chinese U23 team for many years - starting from the U20 level. I think China U23 is at the peak of their form and they are building their playing style with good organization.
Puche's U23 China has won 5 points and more importantly, has not conceded any goals in the group stage, a record equal to U23 Japan.
“For us, being here is very important, it is our dream. We are very organized, the players are very focused. If there is anything to improve, then that is the only problem we face in the group stage, which is the attacking stage, where we have many opportunities but only score one goal.
In football, the important thing is balance. I am satisfied with the opportunities we create but not satisfied because we only scored one goal, in football we always have to aim for progress.
Our spirit is always to want more. We always strive to win. I don't know how the match will go, but we will definitely play our best," the U23 Chinese coach said.
The winning team in the quarter-final match U23 Uzbekistan vs U23 China will meet U23 Vietnam in the semi-finals. Previously, U23 Vietnam defeated U23 UAE 3-2 after 120 minutes.
Statistics
U23 Uzbekistan has won all three recent matches against U23 China in the history of the AFC U23 Championship.
U23 Uzbekistan has scored 5 goals in this year's tournament even though their expected goal difference (Xg) is only 3.09. This shows that their ability to take advantage of opportunities is very good.
U23 China has kept a clean sheet in all three of their matches at the ongoing tournament, becoming the fifth team to do this in the history of the tournament along with U23 Saudi Arabia (2022), U23 South Korea (2024), U23 Uzbekistan (2024) and U23 Japan (2026).
Goalkeeper Li Hao of the Chinese U23 team has made 16 saves in the current tournament, the most compared to any other goalkeeper.
The U23 Uzbekistan vs U23 China match will take place at 6:30 PM on January 17.
