Beijing Guoan away supporters in the third round against Shijiazhuang Gongfu
On 21 May, Beijing Guoan visited China League One side Shijiazhuang Gongfu to begin their tournament. With two goals from Wang Ziming, and a goal each from Dawhan, Zhang Yuan, and a goal from captain Zhang Xizhe on his 400th Guoan appearance, the match finished as a 5–0 victory for Beijing Guoan.[2][3] On 21 June, Guoan faced fellow Chinese Super League side Dalian Yingbo away from home in the fourth round. Cephas Malele's penalty gave a 1–0 lead to Dalian Yingbo, and Zhang Yuning equalised in the 90th minute. After a goalless extra time, Liu Yi's penalty in the shoot-out was saved by Hou Sen, who carried Guoan through to the quarter-finals.[4]
Beijing Guoan faced Qingdao West Coast away in their quarter-final on 22 July. After a goal for Beijing Guoan from Wang Ziming and a goal for Qingdao West Coast from Abdul-Aziz Yakubu, the match entered extra-time. Cao Yongjing first scored for Beijing Guoan in the 177th minute, before Davidson equalised for Qingdao West Coast in the 119th minute. Dawhan scored the winning penalty to send Guoan into the semi-finals.[5]
On 20 August, Beijing Guoan hosted Yunnan Yukun in what would be a 7–0 victory. After Fábio Abreu's goal in the 26th minute, Yunnan Yukun's Andrei Burcă was sent off with a direct red card for violent conduct. Wang Gang and Guga then scored a goal each to take Guoan 3–0 up by half-time. After Lin Liangming, Jiang Wenhao, Zhang Xizhe, and Zhang Yuning's goals sealed the victory for Beijing Guoan in the second half, the match marked the end of the club's seven-year absence from the Chinese FA Cup final since 2018.[6][7]
On 5 October, Beijing Guoan announced the resignation of its manager, Quique Setién, after a run of league performances below expectation.[8] Two days later, Setién's assistant manager, Ramiro Amarelle, was named Guoan's interim manager.[9]
Henan
Henan players after defeat in the season's first meeting with Beijing Guoan
On 25 April, Henan suffered a narrow 1–0 league defeat to Beijing Guoan, with Fang Hao being the difference-maker.[10] Four days after this very match, it was announced that Henan's manager, Nam Ki-il, was sacked. Replacing him was Daniel Ramos, who was most recently in charge of AVS in Portugal.[11]
On 21 May, Henan entered the competition in an away tie with a 2–1 victory against China League One opponent Chongqing Tonglianglong in the third round, with goals from Felippe Cardoso and Li Xingxian for Henan, and a goal from Wu Yongqiang for Chongqing Tonglianglong.[12] In the fourth round, Henan beat Chinese Super League side Zhejiang on 22 June with a 3–2 home victory. Zhong Yihao, Wang Shangyuan, and Felippe Cardoso scored for Henan, while Franko Andrijašević and Liu Haofan entered the score sheet for Zhejiang.[13]
In the quarter-final, Henan travelled away to play Shanghai Shenhua on 23 July. Luis Asué gave Shenhua the lead, only to be equalised by Felippe Cardoso five minutes later. Henan's Frank Acheampong fired Henan into the lead, and Shenhua equalised in the 83rd minute with Wilson Manafá. Felippe Cardoso scored again in extra-time, however, his goal was nullified by a Shenhua goal from Liu Chengyu. After a thrilling 3–3 draw, the match went to a penalty shoot-out, and Henan were victorious after Xu Jiamin saved Liu Chengyu's penalty in the tenth round of penalty kicks.[14]
On 19 August, Henan faced Chengdu Rongcheng away in the semi-final. After a 0–0 draw in regular time as well as extra time, the match boiled down to a penalty shoot-out once more. With Henan goalkeeper Wang Guoming saving Timo Letschert's penalty in the fifth round, Henan became Chinese FA Cup finalists for the first time in the club's 31-year history.[15][16]
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