Daryl's Notebook: Scouting the U20 Asian Cup (Day 5)
Who will continue to advance from group C, and who will have to start packing to return home from Shenzhen?
As matchday 2 continues, group B and C are up to determine the next few teams who will advance through to the quarter-final, and also determine the teams who will have to start packing their stuff at the hotel to head home. Teams like Uzbekistan, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia will head onto the pitch hoping that they can continue to dominate their group and secure a spot in the later rounds. Meanwhile, Indonesia, Yemen, North Korea, and Jordan will have to give it their all to give themselves a chance heading into the final matchday.
It is expected to be a fantastic day so let’s get into it!
Yemen 0-6 Iran
After a few early minutes of the match, it had been an end-to-end match with both teams played quite direct and led to many chances created. Both Iran and Yemen relied quite heavily on their wide players and attackers to drive the team forward, but they seemed to lack the composure in front of goal since their players just kept shooting from outside of the box. That, however, worked for Iran for some reason as their midfielder (#16) Abolfazl Zamani struck the ball very well to the top left corner to open the score.
On the other hand, both teams were very aggressive with their challenges, which led to plenty of fouls committed and a few cards being shown to both teams. Yemen also lost a player very early on as (#13) Saaed Al Shaban got sent off in the 13rd minute and that damaged them significantly, with Iran scored four goals in the first half and made the task a lot harder for Yemen to come back.
Iran had been very direct with the use of long passes from their centre-backs out wide to the wide players. It was quite common to see a full-back or a winger being left unmarked out wide, which allowed a through ball or a long pass to be made to him for a subsequent overlapping run. From there, things just became very easy for Iran as they entered the final third without a lot of pressure from Yemen and managed to find a fair few players inside of the box.
That early red card hurt Yemen a lot as they looked crumbled ever since. Their defence was leaky, and I mean super leaky. Iran just took the initiative and they took control of the majority of the match, sending Yemen back and forth trying to create counter-attacks, but also having to get back quick enough to stop the subsequent Iran’s attack.
I do not think there was a lot to say about the match considering Iran’s total dominance. Yemen was virtually nowhere to be seen and it just felt like a practice match for Iran as they scored six(!) goals while played around with Yemen.
Indonesia 1-3 Uzbekistan
Ohh another team who used a back five to play out from the back! On paper, it seemed like Uzbekistan lined up with a 4-2-3-1, but in build up, they utilised a full-back staying deep to form a 3-2-5 shape, which usually was left-back (#2) Saidkhon Khamidov. The goal was to allow the wingers (#7) Daler Tukhsanov and (#22) Asilbek Jumaev to hug the line and be in 1v1 situations with Indonesia’s full-backs, which they had the ability to beat them and advanced into the final third.
Indonesia, on the other hand, have been quite direct with their attacks as they also relied on wingers, particularly right winger (#15) Marselinus Ama Ola, to drive the team forward. Since they were the underdog and had little control of the ball, it did not come as a surprise when Indonesia used counter-attacks a lot to get forward, and that did resulted in (#9) Jens Raven’s equaliser. The problem was, Uzbekistan defended very well in their 4-4-2 low-block and gave Indonesia little space to get into the final third, which prompted them to basically shoot from anywhere possible.
The Southeast Asian side have also defended quite well having inherited the 5-4-1 defensive shape that former manager Shin Tae-yong used for the first team. They built the team on solid foundation at the back thanks to the presence of a few experienced players like (#4) Kadek Arel, (#5) Alfharezzi Buffon, and (#16) Dony Tri Pamungkas. That defensive solidity frustrated Uzbekistan at times since the Central Asian side relied quite heavily on wing attacks, particularly down Tukhsanov’s left-hand side and crosses, which the Indonesian centre-backs were able to deal with quite comfortably.
The game had slowed down quite a bit, but that did not stop Uzbekistan from continuing their dominance both in and out of possession. They pressed well inside of Indonesia’s own half, opting for a more zonal marking style to intercept passes being made down the middle. That led to their early second half goal from (#23) Abdugaffor Khaydarov, where the ball was intercepted by their star player so far (#10) Mukammadali Urinboev as he drove the team forward, where Khaydarov was found after a string of passes to put the ball into the top of the net. Then they also scored a goal from a well-executed corner, where two players attacked from the edge of the area and teamed up on Indonesia’s centre-back Kadek Arel inside of the 6-yard box. Eventually, (#9) Saidumarkhon Saidnurullaev got the final touch and headed the ball home for Uzbekistan’s third goal.
As Uzbekistan dropped their tempo and started to drop back, their defence stood out as they continuously shut down and frustrated Indonesia’s attacks. The Southeast Asian side just seemed to unable to do any damage towards Uzbekistan, even after bringing on their subs. Lots of passes made and lots of attempts to try and get their striker Raven into the play. But on most occasions, Uzbekistan controlled the situation well to intercept passes and even created a few counter-attacks that ruffled some of Indonesia’s feathers.
Some standout players at the end of the match:
Uzbekistan U20: (#12) Mukhammadyusuf Sobirov, (#6) Ravshan Khayrullaev, (#7) Daler Tukhsanov, (#9) Saidumarkhon Saidnurullaev, (#10) Mukhammadali Urinboev, (#23) Abdugaffor Khaydarov, (#19) Rustambek Fomin
Indonesia U20: (#16) Dony Tri Pamungkas, (#9) Jens Raven, (#15) Marselinus Ama Ola
And with that, group C is done and dusted with Uzbekistan and Iran secured two more spots into the quarter-final while the tournament will be saying good bye to Indonesia and Yemen after matchday 3. Meanwhile, Iraq will hold the pole position heading into the final matchday but no teams have guaranteed a ticket to fly home or a spot in the quarter-final just yet, which will set up a dramatic matchday 3 for group B! For now, see you on day 6 of the U20 Asian Cup!