There were no surprises in Doha on January 17, as the Chinese men's soccer team played Lebanon in the second group match of the Asian Cup 0.:0. The results of the second consecutive match in the group stage were not satisfactory. But judging from the course of this match, the national soccer team did try hard enough and basically showed some of their own characteristics, but these changes were not enough for the team to win the first victory.
First of all, the players worked really hard. According to the AFC's technical statistics after the match, the national soccer team had a 48.5% success rate to Lebanon's 51.5%. In the first 0:In the match against Tajikistan, the national football team was 42% behind their opponents' 58%. This partly reflects the fact that the national football team increased the intensity of the fight and the hardness of the game in the second match, which is one of the reasons for the change in the field.
Secondly, the content of the game has been improved. Compared with the deployment in the first game, head coach Jankovic made two adjustments to the national soccer team's starting lineup in this game:Xu Xin replaced Wang Qiuming to form a triangle position in the midfield with Wang Shangyuan and Dai Weijun; and Zhang Yuning replaced Tan Long to partner Wu Lei in the forward line. The backline is a common configuration of three center backs and two wing backs. The national soccer team switched to 352 and 532 in offensive and defensive changes.
Facing Lebanon, the national soccer team's midfield control was significantly higher than in the previous game. The three players in the midfield dared to receive the ball, hold the ball and get rid of it, which made the midfield and backfield have a connection and formed a localized multi-legged uninterrupted passing. On the forward line, Zhang Yuning played a pivotal role, not only with a high success rate in the first game, but also able to protect the ball, and also formed many attacks and issued wonderful passes for his teammates. According to the technical statistics of the AFC, the national soccer team dominated 60.4% of the ball possession in this match.
Next up, the national soccer team, which has drawn two straight, will play defending champion Qatar on the 22nd, who has won two consecutive matches to become the first team to advance to the round of 16 at this year's Asian Cup.
The national soccer team is currently second in the group with two points, while Tajikistan and Lebanon have one point each. According to the advancement rules, the top two teams and the third team with the best four results in the group advance to the round of 16. In the final round of the group stage, if the national soccer team wins, it will advance directly to the second place in the group. In the event of a draw or loss, advancement depends on the outcome of the match between Lebanon and Tajikistan.
