The competition will take place in Saudi Arabia with the participation of 16 teams.
As part of the preparation for the tournament, the Kyrgyzstan team held a training camp in the UAE, where two friendly matches were planned against Chinese players on December 23 and 29.
According to information from Chinese media, an agreement was reached to hold two matches in a "home and away" format. The first game was supposed to take place at the Kyrgyzstan national team's stadium in Ajman, while the return match was scheduled for December 29 in Ras Al Khaimah, where the Chinese national team was located.
In the first match on December 23 in Ajman, the referee mistakenly showed a straight red card to one of the defenders of the Chinese team in the 10th minute, leading to his ejection. About 10 minutes later, another referee sent off a player from the Kyrgyzstan national team, showing him a second yellow card, followed by a red card.
It was previously agreed that a player receiving two yellow cards could be substituted, while a player sent off for a straight red card must leave the field for the remainder of the match.
As a result, the Kyrgyzstan team largely played with a disadvantage, "11 against 10," noted Chinese media.
Consequently, the Chinese national team won the match 1-0 thanks to a goal by Wang Yudong, who scored from a distance of 65 meters.
According to information received after the match, representatives of the Kyrgyzstan team decided to cancel the second game and instead play against a club from the UAE.
As a result, in the second match, the Kyrgyzstan team achieved a convincing victory over a third-division club from the UAE with a score of 6-0, after which the team headed to Saudi Arabia.
