Yi Heshan's redemption, U19 national football team's second victory in Toulon Tournament

Reported by Chen Yong. On the evening of June 5 Beijing time, in the third round of the Toulon Tournament, facing Colombia of the same age group, the U19 national team (07 youth team) defeated the opponent 1-0 thanks to Liu Jiale's goal in the first minute and Yi Heshan's penalty save, achieving their second victory in this Toulon Tournament. On the early morning of the 8th, they will face their final group stage opponent, the Tunisia U23 team.

In this match, the U19 national team still rotated the starting lineup. Although Yi Heshan made a mistake in the previous game against DR Congo, head coach Jure Jovic still gave him a starting opportunity, and Yi Heshan repaid the trust with an outstanding performance — he saved a penalty in stoppage time of the first half, in addition to making several other saves. His performance was excellent, and he was eventually named the best player of the match.

The U19 national team had a perfect start. In the first minute, more precisely at 36 seconds, Liu Jiale intercepted the ball in the frontcourt, drove to the edge of the penalty area, and then curled a left-footed shot into the corner. However, overall in the match, the U19 national team still had a certain gap with the opponent, including being quite passive in the final stage even with a 11-vs-10 advantage. But the team's defensive system was good.

In the 41st minute, Jure Jovic was shown a second yellow card for protesting a decision, resulting in a red card and being sent off. For the remaining time, he directed the match from the stands.

Colombia was reduced to ten men because their player Mina, after being penalized for a foul, vented his frustration by kicking the ball, which then hit a teammate's leg. The referee directly showed a red card and sent him off.

In professional matches, a similar action might only result in a yellow card, but in youth tournaments including the Toulon Tournament, while referees encourage physical play, they are strict about unnecessary actions outside the game. For instance, in the U19 national team match against Saudi Arabia, Saudi player Ghamdi received a yellow card for complaining about an assistant referee's decision. Actually, Ghamdi's earlier reckless tackle on Huang Shenghao should have been a straight red card. In the match between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, Tunisia had two players sent off, with their first dismissal being a second yellow card for kicking the ball away after the whistle. It can be seen that in international matches, referees have a higher tolerance for physical challenges but are strict on extra actions, which is something Chinese players need to pay attention to.

After defeating Colombia, the U19 national team has 2 wins and 1 loss with 6 points. Saudi Arabia also has 2 wins and 1 loss with 6 points. Due to goal difference, Saudi Arabia currently ranks first in the group, U19 national team second. Tunisia and DR Congo both have 1 win and 1 loss with 3 points and one game less, currently third and fourth. Colombia has 2 losses and 0 points with one game less. In the final match, the U19 national team will face their last group opponent, Tunisia, who is an U23 team.