The 2:1 victory over Timor Leste reminds Liu Haofan of China U-22's opening victory over India U-22 in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers two years earlier, in which he also participated: "When I was with the Olympic team playing against India, I also felt before the match that we could win it easily. But in the end it was settled by a last-minute goal, also a 2–1 scoreline, and back then there was definitely a bit of luck involved…”