With home field advantage and enthusiastic support from the audience, U20 China created a dominant position over U20 Saudi Arabia in the first quarter-final match.
The home team of the 2025 AFC U20 Championship dominated the players from West Asia, with many opportunities created by the red team in front of the opponent’s goal.
However, the lack of luck of the U20 Chinese strikers meant that there were no goals scored in the first half.
After the break, U20 China continued to increase the pressure and created a series of good opportunities. U20 China was even awarded a penalty in the 59th minute. However, Liu Chengyu finished the ball too weakly, so goalkeeper Hamed Al Shanqiti easily blocked it.
Not long after, Liu Chengyu had another great opportunity from a cross from his teammate in the penalty area, but once again, this player missed it incredibly.
In the remaining time, U20 China still controlled the game but could not shake the opponent’s net once.
Attacking a lot but not scoring a goal, U20 China paid a heavy price in the 90+5 minute. Substitute Amar Al Yuhaybi scored the only goal, bringing victory to U20 Saudi Arabia, and a ticket to the semi-finals of the U20 Asia.
This bitter defeat caused U20 China to miss out on a ticket to the 2025 U20 World Cup, which belonged to the West Asian representative.