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The East Stand | Tokyo 2020 football a dream for China at AFC Under-23 Championship
- Hao Wei’s team face daunting group of Iran, South Korea and champions Uzbekistan at AFC Under-23 Championship in Thailand
- Few of the squad are Chinese Super League starters despite Chinese FA’s rules on domestic youth players
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The AFC Under-23 Championship kicks off in Thailand on Wednesday and those with dreams of making the men’s football tournament at Tokyo 2020 will still want to be in Konghla come January 22.
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That’s the date of the semi-finals and presuming that Japan are still there – Hajime Moriyasu’s side impressed in last month’s EAFF E-1 Football Championship so there is no reason not to – then the other three teams in the final four will be joining them in Tokyo in the summer.
That is the plan for some and the dream for others. China fall firmly into the second camp.
Qualification for the Olympics has been described as a “miracle” and “zero chance” in the mainland media and it is easy to understand why they are so disheartened.
China face the toughest of tasks in Thailand where they are in a group with South Korea, Iran and Uzbekistan. The central Asians are the reigning champions, lifting the trophy in China two years ago and bringing back some of that squad for this year.
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