Draw with Thailand Reveals Weaknesses and Resilience, U23 National Team Stands Firm in Adversity

Report by Lu Mi in Xi'an On the evening of the 25th, the Xi'an International Football Center hosted the first round of the 2026 Xi'an International Youth Football Tournament, with China's U23 men's team facing Thailand's U23. Due to call-ups to the national team, the squad fielded a makeshift lineup consisting of U23 Asian Cup substitutes and a large number of U21 newcomers. The first half saw numerous errors, resulting in a 0-2 deficit. In the second half, coach Antonio made precise adjustments, with Xiang Yuwang and Li Xinxiang scoring successively to equalize, ending the match in a 2-2 draw. Despite many shortcomings in the first-half performance, it was encouraging that the young players carried forward the tenacious spirit from the U23 Asian Cup, once again demonstrating the resilience of China's youth football.

Before this match, the team underwent significant personnel changes. The national team initially called up nine key U23 players including Yang Xi and Wumitijiang, later adding Li Zhenquan. Consequently, the U23 national team had to urgently recruit many U21 players, with 17 U21 players in the final squad. Coach Antonio maintained a three-center-back system. Xiang Yuwang wore the U23 captain's armband for the first time, with only five age-eligible U23 players in the starting lineup. Only Peng Xiao and He Yiran from the defense were mainstays from the Asian Cup, leading to severe lack of磨合 and setting the stage for the first-half struggles.

Early in the first half, China briefly took control with high-pressure pressing. Xiang Yuwang moved forward靠近 the penalty area, timing his runs well and firing a threatening shot that unfortunately hit the crossbar. Chen Zeshi timely retreated to a center-back role when opponents held possession. The team executed the three-center-back system effectively, with the defensive line pushing up整体, showing decent tactical execution and进攻侵略性.

However, in the 20th minute, Wang Bohao was injured in a challenge and left the field, with Li Xinxiang substituted in紧急. This substitution彻底 disrupted the team's部署. Shortly after, China's left防守失守, right center-back Zhang Aihui reacted slowly, and Thailand scored a brilliant long-range strike through横向渗透, breaking the deadlock first. After conceding, the players'心态明显波动, midfield interception efficiency骤降, and transition防守漏洞频出.

In the 35th minute, Thailand utilized width持续转移球, Bao Shimeng made a单防解围失误, and the opponent seized the chance to score another goal, extending the deficit to two goals. Thereafter, Thailand完全掌控节奏, applying pressure through边路转移与中路转换. China's midfield and defense配合生疏、衔接不畅, with two key防守失误, leaving the team trailing 0-2 at halftime. Half-time stats showed China had 4 shots with only 1 on target, while Thailand had 4 shots with 2 on target, both converted into goals, highlighting a stark efficiency disparity.

During the halftime break, Antonio did not rush to make substitutions but instead made targeted adjustments to战术思路与球员心态, simplifying进攻套路, strengthening边路冲击与快速转换, while also加固防线, demanding fewer失误 and higher对抗强度. These adjustments became the turning point of the match.

After the restart, China seemed like a different team. Early in the second half, the team produced流畅的边中配合. Bao Shimeng delivered a精准传中 from the right, and Xiang Yuwang, unmarked in the center, calmly pushed the shot home, helping the team pull one back, greatly boosting morale. Thereafter, China's攻势如潮, passing, positioning, and配合 became more简洁高效. The快速转换打法 made Thailand极不适应, completely扭转了 the passive局面 from the first half.

In the 62nd minute, Antonio再次调兵遣将, substituting Zhang Yingkai for Zhang Aihui and Mao Weijie for Bao Shengxin, further强化中后场防守与推进. In the 67th minute, China's持续压迫收到奇效. Li Xinxiang received a long pass from Chen Zeshi and volleyed home, equalizing for China. Antonio then continued substitutions, sending in Du Yue徵 and玄智健 to增强冲击力, forming a围攻之势 on Thailand's goal for over ten minutes.

Throughout the second half, China completed 9 shots, while Thailand had only 3. Besides the two goals, the team also created multiple excellent scoring chances through边中结合. If conversion efficiency had been higher, a逆转 might even have been possible. The防线 also彻底稳住,不给对手任何可乘之机.

Antonio stated: "During halftime we still provided positive encouragement to the players. Indeed, for us, the team hadn't played a match for two months, and there were significant changes within the squad, so there were some difficulties. The second half was more satisfactory; we applied great pressure on the opponent,压迫到对方半场, and also had much more配合."

Xiang Yuwang, who首次戴上 the U23 national team captain's armband, also told this publication after the match: "In the first half our positioning was very混乱. Everyone had played together for a very short time and weren't very familiar with their positions. During halftime, the head教练 pointed out the problems一针见血 through video analysis, and the成效 was very fast; we also fulfilled his requirements."

As Xiang Yuwang said, under the绝境 of大幅轮换 personnel and a two-goal halftime deficit, the U23 national team did not崩溃. This must first be credited to the coach's临场调整精准高效 – the halftime tactical修正 and the恰到好处 timing of second-half substitutions fully demonstrated Antonio's执教能力.

After the match, a journalist asked Antonio to rate the players' performance in this game. The Spanish coach said: "Rating is too复杂. For us now, such matches focus more on the过程 rather than the结果. Our squad has many new players; through this集训和比赛 we aim to观察和考察 them more. Just as we previously prepared for the Asian Cup through a series of such考察备战, our current goal is for the亚运会."

As a key练兵 before the亚运会, this match exposed issues like年轻阵容配合生疏 and防守稳定性不足, while also彰显出 the不服输、不放弃的精神底色 of China's youth army. From创造历史的亚军 at the Asian Cup to绝境扳平 at the Xi'an Four Nations Tournament, the U23 national team under Antonio has proven with实际行动 that they possess顽强的战斗意志与巨大的成长潜力.