"Beating kindergarteners and getting a rating... how shameless."
China defeated Hong Kong 1-0 in the third match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship held at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 15th. After suffering consecutive losses to South Korea and Japan, China finished the tournament in third place with 1 win, 2 losses, and 3 points. Hong Kong finished last with three defeats in three matches.
China took control from the early stages of the match, but the issue of scoring effectiveness remained. In the 5th minute of the first half, Wang Yidong attempted a left-footed shot but missed the goal, and in the 8th minute, Zhang Yuning had a decisive chance but hit the side netting and shook his head in disappointment. Despite seizing several opportunities, the scenes continued without connecting to goals.
Breaking the frustrating flow, the opening goal came in the 20th minute of the first half. After exchanging passes between Zhang Yuning and Huang Zhengwei, Huang Zhengwei attempted a right-footed diagonal shot, and the ball slowly rolled into the net. China celebrated greatly for their first goal recorded in the tournament after three matches.
However, problematic scenes continued. In the 29th minute of the first half, Hong Kong's Yu Zhi-nan suffered a head injury during an aerial battle with an opposing player, and after returning, Yu Zhi-nan collided with a Chinese player in the 42nd minute, injuring his left ankle and ultimately being substituted out. The rough physical confrontations continued, and Huang Zhengwei, who scored the goal, received a yellow card for a foul in stoppage time of the first half. Although China ended the first half leading 1-0, they were outplayed in possession at 49%, despite having more shots (9-3).
In the second half, the atmosphere heated up further. In the 10th minute of the second half, a Hong Kong player struck a Chinese player's face, leading to a frustrated Zhang Yuning tripping the Hong Kong player in retaliation. In an instant, players from both teams got entangled, and a collective brawl ensued as the referee had to intervene to calm the game.
China had several more decisive opportunities afterward but failed to score additional goals. Particularly, they missed clear goal chances four to five times, exposing a lack of resolution. Ultimately, China had to be satisfied with a 1-0 victory. Despite holding control throughout the match, there were many fouls, and the continued rough play left disappointment in both the performance and manner of play, even in victory.
China Sohu.com gave ratings to the winning players after the match. Zhang Yuning received a score of 7.7 and was praised for "directly threatening Hong Kong in the second half. His consolidation ability was outstanding." Additionally, Wang Yidong received a score of 7.6, earning the second-highest rating.
However, Chinese fans were filled with discontent. In the comments of the article, they expressed strong dissatisfaction, saying, "Are you happy about beating kindergarteners?" and "How shameless!".
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