In the 2001 Ten Championships, the Chinese team got out of the group two rounds ahead of schedule and entered the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. Although Zhang Jilong's divine draw allowed China to take a certain advantage, but frankly speaking, the strength of the Chinese team at that time can indeed be ranked first in the group, especially the back line, which can be regarded as Asia's top.
They beat UAE 3-0 at home in the first round, Oman 2-0 on the road in the second round, Qatar 1-1 on the road in the third round, Uzbekistan 2-0 at home in the fourth round, UAE 1-0 on the road in the fifth round, Oman 1-0 at home in the sixth round, Qatar 3-0 at home in the seventh round, and Uzbekistan 0-1 on the road in the last round. In the final round, head coach Milo played a lot of substitutes. If all the starters had played, there is a good chance he would not have lost. But the defensive stats of 2 goals conceded in 8 games still reflects the strength of the team, and there is no way they won't make it out of the tournament.
We can take a look at the main backline of the Chinese team at that time. The goalkeeper was Jiang Jin, the center backs were Fan Zhiyi and Li Weifeng, the right back was Sun Jihai, and the left back was Wu Chengying. Jiang Jin is 1.98 meters tall, has excellent goal-line skills and is good at pouncing on overhead kicks and penalty kicks. Weaknesses are small control range and slow reaction. Jiang Jin won the Asian Cup's best goalkeeper at the 2000 Asian Cup. Although he may not be the strongest goalkeeper in Asia in terms of strength, he has no problem ranking in the top five.
Needless to say, Fan Zhiyi is on the level. With his brilliant performance in the 2001 Big Ten, Fan won the Asian Footballer of the Year. At that time, Fan Zhiyi was often selected as the captain of the Asian Stars United team and was undoubtedly the top center back in Asia. The young Li Wei Feng is somewhat similar to Fan Zhiyi, with a strong body, strong frontal defense and excellent header. In addition, he was bursting with mental fight.
Sun Jihai, fast, good round-trip ability, excellent passing technique. Every national team in Asia at the time wanted a right back like Sun Jihai. The away match against Qatar was one of the toughest matches in China's top ten, but Qatar almost always hid around Sun Jihai and kept attacking the left side guarded by Yang Pu.
Wu Seung-ying, who seems to be the least famous of these defenders, is a typical player whose strength outweighs his fame. Wu Chengying's style is very similar to Sun Jihai. He can attack and defend well, nicknamed. "The Desperate Three" Even so, Wu Chengying is the best left back in Chinese soccer in the last 30 years.
Replacement goalkeepers, including An Qi and Au Chuliang; replacement center backs, including Zhang Enhua and Du Wei; replacement wing backs, including Yang Pu, Wei Xin and Xu Yunlong. Of course, Xu Yunlong missed the top ten due to injury. Keep in mind that Xu Yunlong was Milu's favorite player, so Xu Yunlong played three group games in the 2002 World Cup. Overall, the defense lineup of the national football team could really be ranked in the top three in Asia at that time.
