Written by Han Bing China is in Group D of the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, facing Australia, Timor-Leste, and the Northern Mariana Islands. If aiming to finish first in the group, Australia is clearly the biggest competitor. Still, the other two teams cannot be overlooked, as the so-called weaker teams appear stronger than initially thought based on available data.

Australia Missing Eight Overseas Players

On August 25th, former Australian football star and current U22 coach Vedmar announced the 24-man squad for Australia. Eligible overseas players such as defender Cicati (Parma, Serie A), Matthews (Portsmouth, EFL Championship), forward Ilankunda (Watford, EFL Championship), Segočić (Portsmouth, EFL Championship), and M. Toure (Randers, Danish Superliga) were all called up by the senior national team. Left-back Boss, who recently joined Mainz and is striving to establish himself in the Bundesliga, did not return for this squad. Similarly, forward Goodwin, who just transferred to Charlotte FC in MLS this summer, and South Sudanese winger Kuol, who moved from Newcastle United to Czech club Sparta Prague, are also absent for the same reasons.

The Australian U22 squad includes only four overseas players this time: right-back Adamson (Queens Park Rangers, EFL Championship) and midfielder Priestman (Motherwell, Scottish Premiership) both recently moved abroad this summer. Comparatively, right-back Bovalina, who joined Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS last year, and winger Drew, who transferred to Hartberg in the Austrian Bundesliga earlier this year, have more stable playing time and experience. Drew has been in excellent form this season with 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 recent Austrian Bundesliga matches.

Most players in the squad come from Australian A-League clubs: goalkeepers Bich (Melbourne City) and Pelečić-Kulen (Central Coast Mariners); defenders Pantasopoulos (Western Sydney Wanderers), Bower (Central Coast Mariners), Laurins (Melbourne Victory); midfielders Valadon (Melbourne Victory), Bojinovski (Western United), Alagic (Adelaide United); forwards Grimaldi (Western United), Gibson (Newcastle Jets), and Dukuri (Adelaide United) were all key players last A-League season. Pelečić-Kulen and Bower also played five AFC Champions League matches last season, facing Shanghai Port and Shanghai Shenhua. Newly transferred overseas players Adamson and Priestman were also A-League regulars last season.

Naturalized Players Abound, Weak Teams Not Actually Weak

Coach Vedmar has a deep understanding of young players in the A-League, selecting those who performed well last season. Defensive midfielder Bojinovski and left winger Grimaldi each scored 5 goals and had 1 assist last season; striker Gibson netted 4 goals and provided 5 assists, and in the early-started Australia Cup this season, he scored once and assisted twice in 3 matches as Newcastle Jets' main striker. Goalkeeper Bich, right-back Bovalina, and midfielder Valadon participated in last year's West Asia U23 Cup, where Australia defeated Iraq and Egypt's age-group teams to reach the final but lost to South Korea in a penalty shootout.

In June, the Australian U22 team played two friendlies against South Korea's U22 team, drawing 0-0 in the first match and winning 2-0 in the second. Of the players on the current U23 Asian Cup qualifying squad, 11 started those friendlies and 7 came on as substitutes, making those matches very valuable for understanding Australia's squad status.

The attacking trio consists of South Sudanese striker Lake, Liberian winger Dukuri, and left winger Grimaldi; the midfield trio features North Macedonian defensive midfielder Bojinovski, Mauritian midfielder Valadon, and Croatian midfielder Alagic; the defense line includes Adamson, Bower, Greek defender Pantasopoulos, and Malaysian right-back Laurens, with goalkeeper Bich as captain. However, goal scorers Kuol and Lopian who scored in the friendlies were not selected this time, along with last season's A-League top scorers Goodwin and Segočić, significantly weakening the attacking options.

The Chinese U22 team will face Australia U22 in the third round of the group stage, but before that, they must prepare thoroughly by securing wins and ideally good goal differences against the other two teams. Attention must be paid to Timor-Leste U22 to avoid any upset.

Last week, Timor-Leste U22 played two warm-up matches against a league foreign players' selection, winning 4-2 and 5-0 respectively. The team includes many naturalized players, such as the Jackson and Nicholas brothers, Farugia, and Casemiro (Australia); right-back Da Silva and forward Jimenez (Northern Ireland); center-back Perea (Portugal); and the latest naturalized player is attacking midfielder Ararat from Western Sydney Wanderers' youth squad.

These players have extensive match experience: defenders Farugia and Jackson Fowler, midfielders Casemiro and Ararat, and forward Nicholas Fowler all play in the Australian league; Da Silva and Jimenez compete in Northern Ireland's league; defender Perea plays in Portugal.

Farugia, Jackson Fowler, Correa, Quintao, Zenevio, Fretriano, Figo, V. Canavaro, Bashito, and Javier are already senior national team members for Timor-Leste, possessing solid physical attributes and considerable experience in major competitions.