Officially Announced! FA Cup Final Four Confirmed: Shenhua and Taishan Eliminated, Two Teams Make History, Guoan Face Haigang in Semifinals

Once the FA Cup semifinal lineup was confirmed, the atmosphere changed. Yunnan Yukun defeated Tongliang Long 1-0, reaching the semifinals for two consecutive years. The importance of the final ticket to the title match can no longer be described simply as an upset.

In the final quarterfinal match, Yunnan Yukun secured a tough home victory. In the first half, the two teams had only three shots combined, and Diomande's goal was ruled out. The match was tightly controlled from the start; in the second half, Wu Yuxi missed an opportunity, while Yonicha followed up with a rebound finish to decide the game with one goal.

The most striking thing about this match was not the goal, but the patience being stretched until the final second.

For Dalian Yingbo, the 53,178 attendance at Suoyuwan actually explains more. It was their lowest home attendance of the season on a working day, but in the FA Cup it remains the highest crowd figure so far. More interestingly, over the past three seasons they have progressed in the cup from the round of 48, to the round of 16, and now to the semifinals. Their path is clear, and the challenges keep rising.

Many people look at Yingbo first through the lens of popularity; I prefer to see how this team is gradually turning a stadium into a home ground with its own atmosphere.

The frightening part about Yunnan Yukun is that this is not the first time they have crossed such a barrier. In last season's FA Cup quarterfinals, they advanced to the semifinals with a 3-0 home win; this time they reached the same stage again. They also avoided Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Haigang in their half of the bracket, seemingly removing two of the toughest obstacles. However, after Shanghai Shenhua were eliminated by Dalian Yingbo, their real opponent remains a team that can also drag matches into the details.

This is the reality of cup competitions: the draw can reduce the distance, but it cannot avoid the matchup.

Haigang's 3-0 elimination of Shandong Taishan was not simply about an attractive scoreline. Taishan used home momentum to press high and attack from the wings at the start, creating a fierce spell, but after Haigang withstood the pressure, they gradually stabilized the match through midfield control and organized defending. Muscat's decisions were precise: when to use a 3-4-3 formation, when to make substitutions, and how to retreat into a five-man defense after taking the lead were all calculated by phases rather than driven by blind aggression.

I think the most valuable part of Haigang's performance was not the three goals, but that their defensive retreat after taking the lead did not become excessive.

In the 2024 FA Cup final, Haigang defeated Taishan 3-1 to win their first trophy in club history. Now they have returned to the title race, but the semifinals and final will not be played until after the league ends in November. The extended schedule brings more uncertainty. In cup competitions, the biggest danger is not being strong, but having momentum interrupted halfway through.

For Beijing Guoan, their status as defending champions is clear. Last season they beat Henan 3-0 in the final to win their most important trophy in nearly seven years. For a team that does not have many championships, the significance of this cup title is not just a medal; it filled part of a seven-year gap. Now they need to see whether they can repeat the journey.

Shenhua's situation is much more difficult. The league title is already out of reach, and the cup should have been the most realistic path for a recovery. They had avoided Chengdu Rongcheng, Guoan, Taishan and Haigang in the bracket, yet still lost to Dalian Yingbo at Suoyuwan. Since Mi Shuai took charge, the team has recorded one win and three losses in four matches, scoring seven goals and conceding 11. The numbers are eye-catching because the issue is not just bad luck, but an imbalance between attack and defense.

Taishan's situation after the defeat is similar. With their cup route ended, their previous dream of moving toward the AFC Champions League Elite competition is gone, and their remaining target is only to compete for an AFC Champions League Two qualification spot.

What raises the significance of this FA Cup is the qualification allocation rules. Under the current distribution, the 2026 Chinese Super League champion and FA Cup champion can directly enter the AFC Champions League Elite competition, while the CSL runner-up enters the AFC Champions League Two. For the 2027/28 season, the Chinese Football Association will have two direct AFC Champions League Elite places and one direct AFC Champions League Two place. In other words, the cup is no longer just about winning another trophy; it directly affects which path a team takes into Asian competition after the season ends.

The semifinals are single-match contests: a draw leads to extra time, and if there is still no winner, penalties decide the match. Beijing Guoan vs Shanghai Haigang and Yunnan Yukun vs Dalian Yingbo do not yet have confirmed dates and times, but the final is already set for Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre on neutral ground. This means no team can rely on two legs to adjust slowly; one match will decide everything.

I would rather view this FA Cup as a 'calculation machine.' On one side is the championship, on the other is an AFC qualification ticket, and beyond that are fitness, rotation and injury risks after the league resumes in November. Everyone knows winning looks good; the real difficulty is winning without narrowing the road ahead. Teams like Yingbo, who climbed from the round of 48, Yukun, who can create a powerful home atmosphere, and Guoan and Haigang, who carry heavier goals, are not only competing over courage, but over who can calculate the costs better.

In short, the FA Cup at this stage no longer feels like a simple knockout tournament, but more like a contest about choices. Do you think the champion will be the strongest team, or the team best at controlling the cost?