China continues to maintain possession, exchanging passes and trying to reduce the high tempo of the game, while Hong Kong goes on the attack almost desperately, trying to reduce the score with great desire and little inspiration.
After conceding the goal, Hong Kong launched an attack, trying to threaten the opposing defense, but to no avail, failing to score. China, on the other hand, dominated the game and avoided scoring, managing to control the game.
Huang received the pass up front and, first time, left it to Zhang, who pivoted, protecting the ball and returning it to Hugan, who invaded the area on the right, shooting low, into the right corner of Yapp, who could do nothing, with the score open for China!
The game remains tense, with both teams trying to create threats on the attack—and committing numerous fouls. There’s a tension in the air, amidst a fierce rivalry between the two teams, which keeps the pace of the game from slowing down in the early stages.
On the left, Hong Kong took a corner kick, which was taken into the box and deflected in the confusion, sending the ball high into Yan’s hands, who kept the ball in the air without rebounding. The game started tensely, and both teams launched their attacks!
And we have the first dangerous arrival of the match, with Yudong, who received the pass on the left, got past the defender and hit a strong cross, but sending the ball to the left of the goal, out, in a great chance missed by China to open the scoring!
The players take to the Yongin Mireu Stadium pitch and we have the ball rolling for the first half of the match between China and Hong Kong, with all the action in real time here on VAVEL, in this last round of the East Asian Cup!
Today’s match will be on neutral ground, as on the other five occasions, with four wins for China and one for Hong Kong. Of these five meetings, two were in the East Asian Cup, with two wins for China.
There have been 25 meetings between the two teams in history, with 16 wins for China, seven draws, and two wins for Hong Kong. In the East Asian Cup, as will be today, there were four meetings, with four wins for Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong bench will have the following names for coach Wolfgang Luisser to use during the match: Oleksiy Shlyakotin, Ka-Wing Tse, Nicholas Benavides Medeiros, Dudu, Ka-Ho Lee, Siu-Kwan Philip Chan, Cheuk-Pan Ngan, Yu-Hei Ng, Wai Wong, Clement Benhaddouche, Ka-Kiu Lau, Raphael Merkies and Stefan Figueiredo.
Hong Kong is also in the lineup, coming in a 4-4-2 formation, also with new players in its squad, so going to the field with: Yapp, Yue, Gerbig, Jones and Fernando; Mahama, Tan, Sun and Juninho; Orr and Udebuluzor.
China’s bench has the following names for the game as options for the coach: Yu Jinyog, Xue Qinghao, Liu Haofan, Zhunyi Gao, Zhen Wei, Dun Ba, Yongjing Cao, Kuai Jiwen, Jintao Liao, Haoyang Xu, Shihao Wei, Ziming Wang, Qianglong Tao and Liu Chengyu.
China is scheduled for the match later today and will take to the field in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with some changes to the starting lineup, going to the field with: Yan, Yusup, Zhu, Jiang and Wang; Xu, Huang, Wenneng, Serginho and Yudong; Zhang.
Hello dawn audience! For you who are sleepless and crazy for football: let’s go from the East Asian Cup! The ball rolls soon for the game between Hong Kong and China, with all the moves and emotions of this last round of the competition!
Do not miss a detail of the match with the live updates and commentaries of VAVEL. Follow along with us all the details, commentaries, analysis and lineups for this China vs Hong Kong match here at VAVEL.
Last but not least, today’s match takes place at Yongin Civic Sports Park, located in Cheoin-gu, Yongin City, South Korea. The stadium, owned by the city of Yongin, has a capacity of over 37,000 fans. The stadium opened in 2018 and is also known as Yongin Mireu Stadium. It also hosts the AFC Women’s Championship.
Japan is defending its 2022 Asian Cup title. After three matches, Japan topped the group with seven points to secure the title, one point ahead of South Korea and three ahead of China, while Hong Kong scored no points in the tournament.
On the other hand, Hong Kong, in its 2-0 loss to South Korea in the second round, used a 5-4-1 formation: Yapp, Yue Tze Nam, Jones, Gerbig, Chan, and Sun; Udebuluzor, Juninho, Tan, and Fernando; Matt.
In its 2-0 loss to Japan, China used the following lineup, a 4-4-2 formation: Yan, Liu Haofan, Jiang Shenglong, Zhu Chenije, and S. Wang; Ba Dun, Tianyi, Huang Zhengyu, and Y. Wang; and Wl and Zhang Yuning.
Today we enter the final round of the East Asian Cup, which will feature the China-Hong Kong match as a mere “fixing game,” with neither team having any points and no longer having a chance of winning the title. The other match will be between Japan and Hong Kong, where Japan leads with six points, tied with South Korea, where both teams are vying for the title!
Hong Kong, on the other hand, is also in a similar situation. On June 10, they defeated India in the Asian Cup qualifiers, 1-0 at home, with a goal from Stefan Figueiredo. On Tuesday (8), in the East Asian Cup, they lost to Japan, 6-1, with goals from Ryo Germain (4!), Inagaki, and Nakamura, while Orr pulled one back. And on Friday (11), they lost 2-0 to South Korea, with goals from Kang Sang-yoon and Lee Ho-jae.
China comes into today’s match with two losses and one win in their last matches. On June 10, they defeated Bahrain 1-0 in the World Cup qualifiers, with a goal from Wang Yudong. In the East Asian Cup, they lost 3-0 to South Korea on Monday (7), with goals from Lee Dong-gyeong, Joo min-kyu, and Kim Ju-sung. And on Saturday (12), they lost 2-0 to Japan, with goals from Mao Hosoya and Henry Mochizuki.