The national soccer team is said to have won an award at the Asian Cup, with the four teams in the same group having an average ranking of 88th in the world by FIFA! The schedule, too, goes from weak to strong, with Qatar expected to not give their all in the final round.
Asian Cup needs Chinese men's soccer to go far? While a cursory look at the situation is good, Lebanon is stronger than many think. The national soccer team really doesn't think this group is second, like dandelions on a hillside.
01. The first match against Tajikistan: the opponent's fighting strength and the national football team 55
a. Four years ago: the national soccer team had a one-goal win
Despite the national team maintaining a winning percentage of over 80% against Tajikistan, winning the most recent meeting between the two teams has been a bit of a struggle.
Looking at the statistics of the first half, the national soccer team ran slightly lower than their opponents and were at a 6-7 disadvantage in shot attempts. However, Tajikistan's inefficient shooting and lack of game experience saw the national soccer team close out a 1-0 victory.
As far as ground ball advances go, the Nationals didn't have much of an advantage. Instead, a couple of long balls found the center's head and created chances.
This time, Yang Xu's header to Wu Xi into the box was a good one. Even if he didn't threaten the goal directly the first time, center forward Yang Xu managed to send the ball to the bottom of the opponent's net.
Another threatening attack remained with Zhang Yuning winning the first point of the header through the center. Zhang Xizhe flanked the ball to Wang Gang, but unfortunately the latter cut inside and appeared to pass and could not connect with Zhang Yuning again.
Although Tajikistan's passing skills weren't bad in that game, Li Ke was very good in that game, which was one of the reasons why the national soccer team was able to shut out the other team.
I wonder if Lee might not be in the national team again for the Asian Cup in early 2024.
b. 7 shutouts in the last 10 matches: it's not easy for the national soccer team to score goals
Tajikistan has made great strides in recent years. In the 2018 Asian Junior Championships, they made it all the way to the final. In the subsequent World Junior Championship, they beat Cameroon of Africa.
The National Youth were with them in the recent Asian Youth Tournament. Had it not been for the Tajikistan player who inexplicably set himself up, perhaps the National Youth would have lost.
Behind the 1-1 tie, possession was half that of the opposition and the shot count was at a disadvantage at 6-17. Goalkeeper Lee Shuai was the most conspicuous player, and the field was lopsided at times.
In the preliminaries, Tajikistan finished second in the group in the Top 40. However, due to a goal difference disadvantage, he was crushed by Lebanon to finish second in the group in sixth place, just missing out on the top 12.
Tajikistan have actually lost 4 goals in 7 of their last 10 matches. We should know that among their shutout teams are Russia and the UAE, as well as Kyrgyzstan (2 times), who are third in the Asian Cup.
The Nationals are going to have to work really hard to break through, as well as find the right tactics.
02. World War II Lebanon: the most crucial battle of the entire Asian Cup
a. Top 12 teams: drew South Korea and Iraq, beat Syria.
Although it will be a tough battle for Tajikistan, I believe the more experienced national soccer team should be able to get 3 points. However, Lebanon, who are facing the second battle, are obviously tougher to deal with.
In a sense, this team can be seen as another Syrian team. Also baptized by war, they have a strong fighting spirit and a fighting spirit.
Despite the turnover of old and new after the World Qualifying Asian Zone 12, they will pay dearly if the national team looks down on them.
They gave South Korea a lot of trouble in the last World Cup qualifiers, from the Top 40 to the Top 12. tied with South Korea at home in the Top 40, and were 1-0 up on the road (South Korea came back with a penalty kick to make it 2-1 in the end).
As far as the Lebanese defense is concerned, we can't say that the quality is high, but they rely on the word "unity". The defensive end is localized and dense, the movement is quick, and the defenders are open.
Once again, look at this wave of defense that saw ribs broken and a pick from a Korean player about to cross the goal line, only to be cleared by a Lebanese player.
However, under constant pressure, Lebanese players still make mistakes. This time, a handball in the penalty area was blown for a penalty kick, giving Korea a 2-1 comeback win.
But there is still a question, that is, can the national soccer team really suppress the Lebanese team on the field? If they can't do that, I'm afraid they will be limited by the opponent instead.
b. very good at launching counterattacks on the spot after a rebound.
As you can see from the Top 12 table, Lebanon are at the bottom of the table with 1 win, 3 draws and 6 losses. However, it should be noted that they have a record of 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss in the first four rounds (beating Syria and tying with Iraq and the UAE).
However, the lack of experience and subsequent loss of fighting spirit after losing the right to go out made them look weak with 1 draw and 5 losses in the last 6 rounds.
In stoppage time of the first half, they reversed the game against Syria and suddenly struck with two goals in a row.
Both goals featured a counterattack from the spot after a midfield steal. After a break down the wing, Matouk crossed for striker Kedoux to break through and score.
Two minutes later they replicated their previous goal, but they still gained possession after a counter attack. Striker Kedoux hit a quality long range shot, sending the ball to the bottom of the Syrian net for the second time.
Like the final game of the Korea 40, Lebanon, who went on the road, remained full of fighting spirit. The goal came from a second counter-attack in the midfield after a live counter-attack.
Lebanese players have a very good confrontational temperament and are very brave. This time the veteran Saad handled the ball in the box and scored with a shot that was of high quality.
03. host is the weakest seeded team? Soccer teams have an advantage in the schedule
a. Team Qatar: no longer in our league.
In the preliminaries five years ago, Lippi's national soccer team dared to say that we were better than Qatar. However, after the huge success of their naturalization strategy, there is a huge gap between the current national soccer team and them.
Although Qatar was the only Asian team in the World Cup that didn't win a game and didn't score. The reason for this result is that they went after American football and went a little too far with the idea of a single back and a dominant push.
Against Ecuador, Holland, and the United States, the play of Afeef dropping back to get the ball and organize the push, with a single back, Boudiaf, getting out of the way, was not advantageous.
But back in Asia, this tactic is not really something the national team can limit.
It wasn't just the slow, methodical ball forwarding, but Qatar's kicking game of long passes from the back to find the center was also a threat.
Their striker is a very good individual, and this time he got the ball without stopping and shot directly, but unfortunately the ball was slightly high.
b. Second target group: with a little luck, we can hope to reach the last eight.
People say that the national soccer team is the top signing, but at the same time, they will also say that Lebanon and Tajikistan are not easy to deal with, and these two things are actually not contradictory.
The National Football League is not playing well due to its own lack of fighting ability, and the top signing is due to the fact that the opponents are not strong, and the National Football League has had an excellent run of fixtures.
The first match of the group stage is against the weakest Tajikistan, the second match is against the most crucial Lebanon, and the third match is against the hosts Qatar. If all goes well, Qatar could draw the national soccer team for an early exit. In the context of the third place in the group of the four best results, it would be extremely favorable to the national football team (if nothing else, the team with four points in the group stage can reach the round of 16).
If the national soccer team can finish second in the group, then the opponent in the round of 16 will be the second place in Group C.
The UAE will likely be the UAE, and they could meet Palestine, who have the power of a big dark horse (they beat Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia in the Preliminary 40).
Relatively speaking, this has been a great opportunity. After all, the normal level of the current national soccer team is, between 8-16 in Asia, and it will take some luck and care to reach the semifinals.
Conclusion:
There are four teams in this group, with an average world ranking of 88th, and the third place in the group has a chance to advance. It doesn't seem like too difficult a task for the national soccer team to accomplish, but there is a real possibility of failure.
On the other hand, if Wu Lei, Ekerson and Jiang Guangtai stay in good form, and Wu Xi, Fernando and Li Ke can all shake off their injuries, we can't rule out the possibility of the national soccer team reaching the last eight. Let's check if Jankovic is a good coach.
