U20 Women's Football Team Secures Opening Victory in Asian Cup, Key Contributions from Two National Team Players

Report by Wang Wei Thanks to Zheng Lu's brace and Zeng Yujia's goal, the Chinese U20 women's football team (hereinafter referred to as the women's youth team) defeated Vietnam 3-0 in the first round of Group A of the U20 Women's Asian Cup, securing an opening victory. Xie Zongmei and Wang Aifang, who have represented the senior national team in the Asian Cup, played crucial roles in this match.

In the starting lineup, head coach Colin Bell deployed goalkeeper Liu Chen, three center backs Wu Jiaxuan, Huang Jiaxin, and Li Ke, midfielders Xie Zongmei, Yu Xingyue, Wang Aifang, Xiao Yafei, and Zeng Yujia from left to right, with forwards Lu Jiayu and Zheng Lu partnering up. Huang Jiaxin served as captain.

Xie Zongmei first opened the door to victory for the women's youth team—in the 39th minute, her cross from the left created an opportunity. A Vietnamese defender made a mistake, passing the ball to Zheng Lu, who then shot it into the top left corner of the goal.

Two minutes before the end of the first half, the women's youth team expanded their lead. Yu Xingyue's excellent cross found Zheng Lu, who calmly scored her second goal. By halftime, the women's youth team led 2-0.

In the second half, the women's youth team's offensive pressure continued. In the 48th minute, Li Ke shot from outside the penalty area, forcing the Vietnamese goalkeeper to parry the ball. One minute later, Huang Jiaxin's header missed. In the 77th minute, the women's youth team scored again. Midfield core Wang Aifang delivered a set-piece into the box, the goalkeeper saved the team's free-kick towards Zeng Yujia, who seized the opportunity to score, securing the win.

After the match, Zheng Lu, who scored two goals, stated that the whole team performed well. "With the collective effort of the entire team, we achieved the desired result. I was able to score two goals because my teammates passed the ball excellently."

From the match, it was evident that the women's youth team controlled the game, with a possession rate as high as 75%. However, Vietnam's defensive 'bus' once caused the women's youth team's attack to stagnate, only breaking through in the 39th minute by capitalizing on an opponent's passing error. This also served as a reminder for the players: to solve the problem of opponents parking the bus, patience is key, and急躁 must be avoided.

It is worth mentioning that the stadium temperature reached 35 degrees Celsius, greatly consuming the players' physical energy. During breaks, players from both teams placed wet handkerchiefs on their heads, and the women's youth team staff even placed wet towels on the players' necks to cool them down.

Since only the top four in the tournament advance to the U20 Women's World Cup, and China, Japan, North Korea, Australia, and South Korea are generally comparable in strength, in a scenario of selecting four from five, it is essential not only to perform well collectively but also to have outstanding players step up at critical moments.

Meanwhile, Wang Shuang's suspension in the semi-finals of the Women's Asian Cup also served as a warning for the women's youth team: key players reducing fouls and red/yellow cards is an aspect the team needs to pay attention to.

Regarding this Women's Asian Cup, Colin Bell stated that they will first focus on the group stage and then proceed step by step. "Our goal is at least to reach the Women's World Cup (top four)." At 17:00 Beijing time on April 4, the Chinese team will face Bangladesh in the second round of the group stage.