Good defense proves best offense

Ranked 50th in the world and fifth in Asia, Uzbekistan, which had dominated Group C with two wins and one draw, entered the match as the clear favorite to advance, yet soon realized its productive attacking would not work against a disciplined Chinese squad, which surprisingly beat powerhouse Australia 1-0 in its only win in Group D relying on the same defense-first tactics.

The first five kicks in the shootout were converted by the two sides, respectively, with Team China leading 3-2 before Behruzjon Karimov and Yang Haoyu each missed their teams' next shots.

Li then rose to the occasion, blocking Abdullaev's attempt to set up teammate Wang Bohao to score the winning penalty to take Team China through.

Puche attributed the win to Team China's defensive discipline, a strength of the squad which managed only six shots, all off target, facing Uzbekistan.

"They (Uzbekistan) have good players with the ball, they are technically very sound," said Puche, a former pro with La Liga 2 clubs who was signed by the Chinese Football Association in 2018 as a youth coach.

"For us, it was not easy to play today in attack and defense because of the heat. It was hard to keep the level that we had shown before. It was physically impossible but the job the players did was fantastic."

The U23 squad's efforts, despite having scored only one goal during regulation time in four matches, has served up some cheer for China's long-suffering soccer fans who have become accustomed to disappointment on the international stage.

The country's senior national team, ranked 93rd in the world, missed out on FIFA World Cup qualification for a humiliating sixth consecutive time in June after being eliminated in the third-stage Asian qualifiers for the 2026 edition to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

As excitement builds globally for this summer's soccer showpiece, Team China, shamefully, has had to move on and prepare for a shot at the 2030 edition, with pundits and fans alike urging the CFA and domestic league clubs to focus more on talent development at the youth level.

A quick fix, with whatever temporary remedies, has proved impossible for the disappointing national program, which has squandered huge sums of money and resources on its previous failed World Cup-qualifying attempts, hiring expensive, big-name foreign coaches and introducing naturalized Brazilian-born players.

"I think the U23 squad's breakout run at the Asian Cup has provided a sobering wake-up call that only by investing in youth, with consistent efforts and a long-term plan, can the game's rebuild succeed," said Yang Chen, a former Team China striker who represented the country at its sole World Cup finals in 2002.