Despite an early exit and a high probability of locking up the first place in the group, the team's performance fell below the lower limit when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Bangladesh in the third match of the Asian Games group stage on the night of 25...
Speculation about how far this team could go was inevitable, but in the post-match press conference, head coach Djurdjevic said the result was acceptable.
Djurdjevic, head coach of the Asian Games team.
Just how golden are the two wins?
The first two matches of the Asian Games were a 5-1 win over India and a 4-0 win over Myanmar, but the gold content of those two matches is questionable.
The opening match against India was a "man on the road" encounter. They didn't arrive in Hangzhou until the day before the game. They did not even have time to train to adapt to the venue, directly "naked test" - the team's physical fitness in the second half of the collapse, and finally lost four consecutive goals.
Against Myanmar, the Asian Games exposed the pitfalls of a single means of scoring. The four goals in the first half were basically caused by overage player Liu Yang's passes from the left. With a rotated lineup in the second half, the team failed to even score...
This game against Bangladesh, the Asian Games rotated eight starters, the brand new lineup of tacit cooperation there is a big problem.
Captain Tan Long was replaced in the second half, but the Asian Games team still couldn't break through.
What's more embarrassing is that many players have no advantage in competing with their opponents' individual skills... Xu Haoyang, Tan Long, Dai Weijun and other main players also took turns in the second half, but the Asian Games still failed to open the opponent's goal.
He said, "We did our part in this game and we can't always be 5-0., like 4-0, it's unrealistic to keep winning by those scores."
"So, this game is actually good for us in terms of giving some of the other players on our team a chance to experience it and get the team better prepared for the future."
Djurdjevic believes that an early exit and a rotated lineup were the reasons for the final 0-0. "I can say that our players worked hard. Also, I would like to congratulate the Bangladesh team. They played with ease, no pressure and a lot of courage."
After the game, the AFC players thanked the fans for their support.
What about the knockout rounds?
In fact, Djurdjevic said in his press conference after the last game that there was a clear contrast between the 4-0 in the first half and the 0-0 in the second half at that time.
Djurdjevic believes the team can't be perfect, but three consecutive 0-0 halves also shows that this team needs to have a significant improvement in the knockout rounds, both in terms of form and focus.
From the point of view of encouraging the players, the Serbian still believes that "in general, I still think the result is acceptable. We are still a team and I am satisfied. We have to prepare for the future now."
"Sometimes you can get a goal and sometimes you might not get a goal and I think that's normal."
The national soccer team ended up topping their group at the Asian Games, but their opponent for the one-of-eight knockout stage has not yet been determined. The opponents - Qatar or Palestine - will be based on the result of Palestine's 25th match against Japan.
Prior to that, the coaching staff had gone on a field trip to visit both teams. "We have to prepare ourselves. We're not going to dwell on the game in front of us forever. The game in front of us is over." Djurdjevic said.
