China's women's soccer team can only find its former glory if it does not fold, does not get impatient and finds the right direction in the long run.
In the early morning of December 3, Beijing time, the Chinese women's soccer team training in the United States played the first game of the warm-up match with the U.S. women's soccer team and eventually lost the game by 0-3. This year, the Chinese women's soccer team performed poorly in the World Cup, Asian Games and Olympic qualifying matches, and head coach Shui Qingxia resigned. However, a coach can only take the responsibility of a coach, and the Chinese women's soccer team's mediocre performance this year boils down to the fact that the strength is still poor, and it is getting farther and farther away from the advanced trends in world soccer.
Sophia Smith scored the first goal in the 8th minute of the first half; the game was resumed in the second half, and in the 52nd minute, Lindsay Holland's cross to the penalty area went straight into the net; Trinity Rodman sealed the victory in the 77th minute. In the end, the Chinese women's soccer team lost 0-3 to the U.S. women's soccer team.
After the match, the official U.S. Soccer Federation website reported the 3:0 match.
After the game, the official U.S. Soccer Federation website commented on the U.S. women's soccer team's record this year. The U.S. women's soccer team has a record of 13 wins, 4 draws, and 0 losses this year, and the team is aiming to finish the 2023 campaign undefeated. Three days later (Dec. 6, 9 p.m. BST), the U.S. Women's Soccer team will play the Chinese Women's Soccer team again at Toyota Stadium in Texas.
One friendly game doesn't mean everything, but the gap between the Chinese women's soccer team and the world's best teams is indeed getting wider and wider. In the case that the U.S. women's soccer team did not try their best, the Chinese women's soccer team was in a state of suppression, which is a more cruel reality than the 0-3 score. In the final analysis, the Chinese people were once proud of the "clanging roses", in the world's advanced soccer countries attach great importance to the popularization of women's football population, professional development, and made great progress, China's women's football is completely "against the current of the boat does not advance or retrogression".
Of course, you can find excuses to lose the game. For example, the jet lag to the United States has not been reversed, such as Shui Qingxia has just been dismissed, the temporary acting head coach Wang Jun is not familiar with the team, such as some of the main players of the Chinese women's soccer team has not yet traveled with the team. However, these excuses can not change the fact that the overall strength of the Chinese women's soccer team has declined sharply, nor can they change the status quo of the lack of comprehensive strength of Chinese soccer.
On Dec. 2, Chinese women's soccer players greeted fans after the game. On the same day, the Chinese women's soccer team lost 0-3 to the U.S. women's soccer team on the road in an international soccer friendly match in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AFP/Reuters
With the development of soccer, the high level of women's soccer teams is often the high level of men's soccer, which is a reflection of the comprehensive strength of a country and region's soccer. The birth of Chinese women's soccer into a world powerhouse stems from the struggles of the Chinese women's soccer team, generation after generation, and from the struggles of the Clarion Roses. However, it is undeniable that in the context of the unspecialized women's football 30 years ago, the Chinese women's football team won early at the starting line, giving full play to the advantages of the national system such as long-term training.
With the continuous development of professional leagues in other soccer powerhouses, women's football has also entered the professional era, especially in soccer powerhouses such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, etc., which can quietly drive the development of women's football through the advanced concepts and development experience of the professionalization of men's football. In contrast, Chinese soccer lacks heritage and culture, and the market base of women's soccer is far inferior to that of men's soccer. Most of the spectators of Chinese women's professional soccer leagues are difficult to exceed 1,000 people, and the market value cannot be increased. There is a huge gap between China's women's soccer population and that of soccer powerhouses such as the United States and Spain.
On Dec. 2, Wang Jun, interim head coach of the Chinese women's soccer team, watched the game from the sidelines. On the same day, the Chinese women's soccer team lost 0-3 to the U.S. women's soccer team on the road in an international soccer friendly match in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AFP/Reuters
Of course, after Shui Qingxia led China's women's soccer team to the Asian Cup title, the CFA also encouraged more women's international players to study in Europe with the help of socially responsible companies like Alipay. However, due to the low income of women's soccer in Europe and the low level but high income of the domestic professional leagues, teams such as the Wuhan women's soccer team generally have higher daily incomes than many overseas leagues. This high domestic income also limits the determination of women's soccer players to go out and broaden their horizons.
At the end of the day, Chinese women's soccer is an important part of Chinese soccer and cannot exist independently from the inadequacies of Chinese soccer. China's 0-3 loss to the U.S. women's soccer team is like China's men's soccer team's 0-3 loss to South Korea; pure strength is not enough. Soldiers, fans and the media need to set a reasonable position on the strength of this national team and maintain a clear understanding. Only by recognizing the gap can we see the backwardness and rise to catch up. For China's women's soccer team, only by truly expanding the soccer population, encouraging more girls to play soccer on campus, and sending more potential young international players to study in Europe to "borrow chickens to lay eggs", China's women's soccer team can find its former glory.
