At the pre-semifinal press conference on Jan. 19, Puche was asked whether China would continue to play defensively against Vietnam. He said he would keep the answer to himself, adding that everyone would find out once the match began.
The Spanish coach kept everything secret from his players as well, only revealing the plan when the Chinese team arrived at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium on the evening of Jan. 20.
“Yesterday, the head coach was still saying there was no plan. Of course, we didn’t believe that,” said center-back Liu Haofan. “Just before warm-up, he announced the starting lineup, which surprised everyone. After that, he explained how we would play against Vietnam.”
Compared with the quarterfinal, Puche retained the 5-3-2 formation but made six changes to the lineup. Liu replaced He Yiran. In midfield, Li Zhenquan, Xu Bin and Mutellip Iminqari were replaced by Chen Zeshi, Bao Shengxin and Wang Bohao. Up front, forwards Wang Yudong and Behram Abduweli made way for Kuai Jiwen and Xiang Yuwang.
Puche also instructed the team to attack from the opening minutes.
“The strategy changed. We no longer relied on defense like before,” said defender Hu Hetao. “But we trusted ourselves and knew we could make a difference against the opponent.”
The 90 minutes that followed saw China produce their best performance of the tournament. They had 50% possession, completed 465 passes and took 16 shots, seven of them on target.
In comparison, their highest figures across the previous four matches were 40% possession, 335 passes and 11 shots.
They stifled Vietnam and scored three goals through Peng Xiao, Xiang Yuwang and Wang Yudong. That tally equaled the total number of goals China had scored in their previous 10 U23 Asian Cup matches combined.
U23 Asian Cup semifinal: China 3-0 Vietnam
After the match, Puche said he was confident in making changes because “there are many good players.” He instructed his team to keep the ball as much as possible, especially in the opposition half, and to attack.
Vietnam head coach Kim Sang-sik admitted that he had anticipated changes from China but was “unable to respond effectively.”
Defender Hu also believed that a string of victories had helped the team build confidence, while Liu asserted that “China no longer felt any pressure once we reached the semifinals.”
Starting Liu was also a gamble by Puche, as the defender had only just recovered from injury. He had returned to fitness training and running less than two weeks earlier, and still felt cardiovascular fatigue after the match against Vietnam.
Liu personally assessed that the growing understanding between the players and the head coach after two years of working together was a decisive factor. “The longer the coach leads the team, the better we understand his thinking, what he needs and what he expects the team to achieve. I think that was the key to today’s success.”
Under the Spanish coach, China have continued to break milestones at the U23 Asian Cup. They advanced beyond the group stage to the quarterfinals for the first time in history and have now reached the final. This is also the first continental final for a Chinese men’s national team since the 2004 AFC U19 Championship, when they lost 0-2 to South Korea.
China also became only the second team to keep five consecutive clean sheets, after Uzbekistan in 2024. They will set a new record if they concede no goals in the final against Japan on Jan. 24.
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