The women's soccer girls also have to face the conundrum that Chinese soccer can't get around: counting points, after a head-scratcher against Denmark and a stunning comeback against Haiti.
England 6, Denmark 3, underdogs in the win/loss ratio, Haiti's front-runner against Denmark, the alignment of the four teams on the same score, the subtle difference in goal difference totals... After precise calculations, the opening whistle was blown and everyone spotted the damage and reviewed it in depth.
Yes, China conceded just four minutes into the match. England broke down the left and crossed, and in the second attack Reece James' sister Lauren James assisted, and Alesia broke through to score.
Down early, not much left in the pre-match arithmetic. If you want to get out of the game, you have to go all out on offense, but top player Wang Frost was in a rather awkward position. Wang Frost, who was the front-line sharpshooter, substitute weapon and the most important change point in Shui's use of the ball in the first two games, not only started this game, but was also pushed to the front of the team.
As a result, fans experienced the silly feeling of seeing a Fabregas, Phil Foden center for the first time.
After all, Wang Frost is a skilled but physically thin player who needs those around her to provide her with a good ecosystem so that she can maximize her strengths and avoid her weaknesses. However, in this match, Shui arranged for her to be partnered by Lou Jiahui, which allowed the two less dominant girls to be the fulcrum of the counterattack. Result.
First, the body can't carry it, and counterattacks are lost to a single blow from the opponent.
Secondly, there was a lack of connection between the forward line and the midfield, and the area where Wang Frost was supposed to play was blank.
In the 26th minute, two complications came together. Lena Yang's backheel broke and Wang Frost and Bright were hit directly as they fought for the ball at their feet. England Women's chased China's tails from the middle of the pitch and hit back - Lawrence James again with an assist to make it 2-0.
Seeing this, we are actually filled with deep helplessness. On the one hand, it is because the physical quality of our own girls is not in the same dimension as that of our opponents, and more importantly, the England women's soccer team is obviously better in the technical aspect that we are proud of.
Furthermore, Wang Frost and Lou Jiahui suddenly made such a decision...the women's soccer girls, not to mention counterattacking, advancing forward has become hellishly difficult.
In the last 15 minutes of the first half, after the symbolic counter-attack of the Chinese Women's Football Team was covered, the game situation was completely tilted to the side of the England Women's Football Team. They put a lot of pressure on the Chinese Women's backline in the simplest and most efficient way. If VAR hadn't helped them at the end of the half, the Chinese Women's Football Team would have been 0-4 down before they went into the locker room.
At halftime, the most profound lessons were twofold.
A. But it really can't be beaten.
B. What Reece James' sister? Please refer to that person as "Lauren James' brother" when watching the Premier League next season!
The reason for the intentional banter is that the game is over. Denmark took an early lead over Haiti on the other pitch and the Chinese women's soccer team's exit became a big dream.
Although the girls had leveled the score at 1-3 with a penalty kick in the second half, it only took England Women's soccer team 10 minutes to get back into the game, widening the gap to three goals... Four goals... Five goals...
The last tennis score of 6-1 showed the huge gap between us and England women's soccer team. Throughout the whole match, the Chinese women's soccer team tried to encircle the opponent's ball carrier several times, and not only couldn't break the ball, but couldn't even encircle the opponent in the same place. Winning this match was almost an impossible task.
The truth is that England women's football did not have outstanding results until 2015. However, they have reached the semi-finals of the last two World Cups, with the Euros becoming the new champions.
When it comes to this, we have to talk about the English football's master plan for soccer in recent years.
As a not-for-profit company, the total income of the English soccer team will basically be invested in English soccer in that year. Each year, the English soccer team always relies on revenues of around £400 million from sponsorships, selling broadcasting rights and engaging in a variety of activities, of which around 90% goes directly to the costs associated with soccer, leaving only 10% to be retained as profit for a rainy day.
Included in that year's expenses were the running costs of the General Manager of English soccer, Wembley, St. George's Park, national teams at all levels, and soccer governance and development. After all, over 700 staff need to be paid on time and the national teams need airfare and accommodation in order to fly around. The cost of maintaining the training base and Wembley is also a big item of daily expenditure.
The remaining approximately £150 million is invested in long-term investment projects in soccer. The main projects in this category include:
First, long-term projects for professional and grassroots soccer. These include coach and referee training, regional football association management projects, FA Cup prize money and publicity, youth soccer, disability soccer, women's soccer, and rehabilitation and new construction of amateur soccer pitches.
Secondly, a number of cup competitions are maintained and constantly promoted in the United Kingdom. In order to ensure that there is a competition platform for all kinds of soccer, the General Football Association of the United Kingdom organizes as many as 15 various cup competitions. We are very familiar with some of them, such as the 700-odd Total Football Cups each year and the Community Shield, which pits the Premier League champion against the Total Football Cup champion before the season.
There are other cup competitions that are relatively unknown to Chinese fans, but are the ever-growing mass base of English soccer. The FA Championship for teams from the fifth to the eighth leagues; the FA Bottle for teams from the ninth to the eleventh leagues, which has more than 500 teams each season; the Youth FA Cup and the Regional Youth FA Cup, which provide clubs at all levels with official matches for their youth camps; and so on.
It is worth noting that the FA Championship Final, the FA Bottle Final, and a number of Junior FA Cup finals are hosted by Wembley Stadium each year, as are the FA Cup finals, giving lower level teams and young players the chance to step onto the stage of their dreams.
There is also the Women's Football Cup and the Women's Premier League Cup for women's football; the Sunday Football Cup and the International League Cup (for amateur teams from all over Europe who use English) for amateurs. The Umbro Futsal Cup, the Indoor Futsal Cup and the People's FA Cup for Futsal fans.
Don't underestimate these seemingly marginal cup competitions. They have always had a considerable mass base in England because they have many groups that cover a wide range of areas and have their feet on the ground. The People's FA Cup, for example, with its 10 categories of U14 boys, U14 girls, veterans, disabled and other competitions, is the most popular grassroots soccer program for ordinary people in England.
The fact is that a loss to such an opponent is not surprising.
In 2017, the Women's Premier League in England went professional and women's football stepped onto the fast track - relying on the systems and structures of the men's Premier League, but they were in a position to operate completely independently, no longer needing the procedures of the men's clubs.
With a lighter touch, women's soccer leagues and clubs looked more independent, player input increased, further accelerating the overall commercialization process, and the prosperity of professional leagues in turn radiated to every corner of society.
Today, the English Women's Football League is one of the most exclusive on the continent. Chelsea Women's Football Team, Arsenal Women's Football Team, Manchester City Women's Football Team and Manchester United Women's Football Team are already among the giants of Europe, and the most direct result of the rise of the giants instead of a single player is that the games are good and the people watch the games.
How popular is the women's game of soccer in England?
Sports marketing agency TwoCircles released a set of survey data midway through the 2022-23 season:
-- Over the course of the season, the English Women's Premier League had an average attendance of 6,961, with four matches exceeding 4,000.
-- By 2022, four million viewers had watched live streams of the English Women's Premier League, but had not seen any live Premier League soccer.
-- 1.8 million viewers watched women's soccer at the Euros, but not the men's World Cup.
In any country, the foundation of soccer is actually based on amateur leagues and fans. These two used to be the big mountains for the development of women's soccer in various countries, but the England women's soccer team has already succeeded in overcoming them.
Nowadays, watching women's football matches in England is no longer a leisure activity before waiting for a men's game, but the dream of becoming a professional women's footballer is quickly taking root in the hearts of more girls.
At the end of the day, sponsors may not sponsor anymore, but those who love to play soccer will always continue to play, and those who love to watch soccer will always come to the games.
That's the basic England men's and women's football plate.
That's the fundamental gap between us.
