Before the start of the second match against New Zealand on March 26, the new coach of the national soccer team, Jankovic, is actually full of confidence, which stems from the 0-0 in the first match between the two teams. "I want the team to go further. I hope we can do a better job of controlling the speed and intensity of the game and improve to some extent on the problems exposed in the first game. I would say that the goals will come and we will improve our effectiveness in catching fighters in front of the goal. I'm confident about that and especially happy with the running of our front players." The goals Jankovic said before the game did come, but it was the opposition who had the last laugh. In a 1-2 game, I lost.
What is the problem? Of course, poor overall strength is the main reason that bears the brunt of the problem. Although China's 80th place is much higher than New Zealand's 105th place in terms of world ranking, this ranking does not accurately reflect the strength comparison between the two teams. In terms of overall strength, New Zealand is even higher than China. As many as 22 of New Zealand's 24 players play in overseas leagues, and some of them play in top European leagues. For example, striker Chris Wood plays for English Premier League side Nottingham Forest and defender Cacace plays for Serie A side Empoli. According to the price of the German transfer venue, the price of the German team is 0.
In the first meeting between the two teams, the Chinese soccer team had just over 30% possession in the first half. In the first 45 minutes, New Zealand had eight shots and five shots on goal, while the Chinese men's soccer team only had four shots and one shot on goal. It was the 62nd minute. China's situation improved slightly when Wu Lei used his individual ability to force the New Zealand captain to commit a foul in the backfield, earning him a red card and a booking. In yesterday's match, New Zealand still dominated the field. The team's ball possession was 60% and their 18 shots on goal were twice as many as the Chinese team. In all fairness, the Chinese men's soccer team got the game although they played a more intense game.
As the team's new coach, Jankovic didn't show much dominance in the two games. If his troop arrangement and field command didn't fail in the first game, the Serbian coach seemed a bit too aggressive in the second game. Before the national soccer team went to New Zealand, there was news that the national soccer team and the Asian Games team training there might use each other's players in the match, which is true. After making Zhu Chenjie of the Asian Games team the starting center back for the national football team in the first match, Jankovic made Wu Shaocong the other starting center back for the 26th match.
In addition to Wu Shaocong replacing Wei Zhen at center back, Jankovic also made two other changes to his starting lineup for yesterday's game, with Deng Hanwen replacing Liu Binbin and Chen Pu replacing Tan Long. It's worth noting that both players came on as substitutes in the first leg against New Zealand and both showed good form after coming on. In the opening stages of the second match, these two players did bring some changes to the team's offense. For example, Wu Lei's threatening shot from inside the penalty area in the 20th minute came from Chen Pu's brilliantly picked pass. Chen Pu and Wu Xinghan were replaced one after another at the start of the second half, which made them feel ironic.
"In the away match against New Zealand, our players could compete in terms of physical fitness and intensity of the game, which satisfied me. In addition, the will of the players not to give up when they fell behind and to fight until the last moment is also worth recognizing. I believe this team will continue to improve in the future." After the two matches, Jankovic gave this assessment of his team's trip to New Zealand. Of course, his words will encourage the players and boost the team's morale to a certain extent, but as a head coach, especially one who has been questioned for his lack of experience in coaching adult teams at the beginning of his tenure, a draw and a loss will make things even tougher for Vicky.
