China's soccer team departed from the United Arab Emirates on a special flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in the late afternoon of yesterday, local time. At 1:00 a.m. Beijing time today, China's men's soccer team will face the Saudi Arabia team in Jeddah. Although the national football team only one day today for special training, tomorrow there is only a drill, preparation time is tight, but the host team for the game is determined to win, a lot of unfavorable factors to test the psychological endurance of our team.
It is reported that right back Wang Gang, who was injured in the last game, has no serious injury, and center forward Zhang Yuning's leg discomfort is also not a major problem. After two days of recuperation and adjustment, it has not yet been heard that they are unable to participate in the preparation for the match against Saudi Arabia due to injuries. Although there are still other injuries in the team, the current lineup is good enough for the upcoming China-Saudi Arabia match. Coupled with the high morale of the team due to the victory in the last round, some factors that could have been a problem are no longer obstacles now.
Looking back at the 2015 Asian Cup, the last meeting between China and Saudi Arabia. With Hai scoring a free kick from a distance, the national team won 1:0 over Saudi Arabia. Now, Saudi Arabia, who participated in this 12-team tournament, won all three matches, accumulated nine points and scored five goals, ranking second in the group after Australia. Our team conceded six goals in three matches, second only to Vietnam in defense. Head coach Li Tie said bluntly, "This match is bound to be the toughest." The coaching team has started to study the tactics of the Saudi team during the Sharjah period, including the overall characteristics of the opponents and the individual playing styles of the players, and quickly conveyed the relevant information to each player.
Playing away from home, the national soccer team needs to be well prepared psychologically, including dealing with possible controversial penalties in the game, etc., and concentrate on the game. It is reported that the match will be enforced by Uzbekistan referee Tantashev, who had enforced Saudi Arabia's 3:1 win over Vietnam, when he awarded two penalties to the Saudi team.
