As night falls, the Chinese men's soccer team is set to kick off its first match in the World Qualifying 12 in the early hours of September 3, Beijing time. Under the wise leadership of manager Li Tie, the team has vowed to go all out for the road to Qatar
World Cup
The Chinese team has to deal with not only the loss of home advantage, but also more difficult hurdles to overcome. The multiple challenges brought about by the epidemic have left the Chinese team not only dealing with the loss of home advantage, but also with more difficult hurdles to overcome. The AFC's recent outlook for China's Top 12 tournament does not consider the Chinese team to be a favorite, but it is expected to be a spoiler in the tournament. So, what are the advantages of this Chinese men's soccer team to impact the World Cup?
Going out with confidence.
Before embarking on the journey to West Asia, head coach Li Tie said confidently in an interview with the media, "Even if the opponent's strength is strong, we still have the possibility of winning." These words are obviously aimed at the first two rounds of the national football opponents Australia and Japan. Li Tie has been committed to cultivating the national football team's "can win", "dare to win" mentality, to help the team shape the winning temperament.
In the 2008 World Qualifier, the national soccer team had paid the price for "not daring to win". Facing the schedule of Iraq and Australia, the outside world is generally not optimistic about the national football team, but the national football team in the two draws actually have a chance to win the game. Against Iraq, the national football team in the case of more than one person to fight with the opponent draw; the next battle Australia, the national football team missed the opportunity to kill the opponent on penalties, and ultimately to three consecutive losses to say goodbye to the World Cup in South Africa.
After taking over the whip of the Chinese men's soccer team, Li Tie led the "Iron Family Army" showed a strong cohesion and self-confidence. Recent interviews, Wu Lei, Wei Shihao, Zhang Xunzhe and other players have expressed confidence in the 12 strong match.
"There is not much difference in the strength of the teams in the 12-team tournament, we play one game at a time, we should have confidence in ourselves, no matter who the opponent is, it is not easy to win the game." -- Chinese men's soccer player Wu Lei
"Our grouping is not bad. Australia and Japan are strong, but if we play at our level, the opportunities will come naturally. It is every player's dream to participate in the World Cup and we will do our best to realize this dream." -- Chinese men's soccer player Wei Shihao
"It's a great opportunity for our group of players. Compared to the last edition of the World Cup 12, now four years have passed and almost half of the players in the team have experienced the last edition of the tournament. You know, before the last tournament, our team hadn't played in the final stage of the World Qualification Tournament for many years and had no confidence, but now after playing this kind of tournament, we all have a better understanding of the game and more confidence." -- Chinese men's soccer player Zhang Xizhe
Steady increase in strength
The confidence of the Chinese team comes not only from the spiritual level of motivation, but also the steady improvement of the team's strength. Compared to the previous 12-team tournament, the Chinese team has made significant improvements in its lineup, especially in the offensive end. Wu Lei's successful stay in the ocean so that his personal ability to continue to improve, game reading ability and vision has also been improved, become the core of the offensive end of the national football team, his maturity and ability and mentality is the current tournament of the national football team offensive end of the solid rely.
In addition, the naturalization strategy of players during Lippi's time has provided strong additions to the Chinese team, whether it is Aixon, Alan, Luo Guofu on the front line or Jiang Guangtai on the defense line, whose additions have made Li Tie's lineup richer and more balanced in attack and defense. Although the national football team suffered from injuries in the defensive end, from an overall point of view, compared with the last 12 strong match, the strength of the national football team has improved.
It is worth mentioning that, according to data from the German transfer market, the average height of the Chinese team is 181.8 centimeters, which is higher than the average height of Australia and Japan. Guo Tianyu, Zhang Yuning and Ackerson in the national soccer team all have excellent heading ability. However, the two center backs of the national football team, Jiang Guangtai and Zhang Linpeng, are not particularly tall, while the Australian center back, Soutar, is 1.98 meters tall, so the national football team will face certain pressure on the defense in the first match.
Comprehensive coverage in place
For the national football team, the national team's security team is also an advantage. Compared to the 40 strong match when only 3 days to prepare for the game change of venue, this time the trip to West Asia, the national football team's logistical support work more comfortable. It is reported that the number of national football team to Doha nearly 80 people, carrying nearly 700 pieces of luggage, the total weight of nearly a ton. The hotel where the team stayed is located in the city center, occupying three independent floors of the hotel for strict epidemic prevention and management. The team has independent entrances and exits and elevators, meeting rooms and restaurants, which helps the national football team to reduce contact with the outside world and strengthen the management of epidemic prevention.
Since the start of the World Qualifiers, the national soccer team has been leading Asia in terms of logistics. The difficulties encountered by players playing in Europe's top five leagues in returning to the national team to prepare for the tournament, and the fact that Chinese player Wu Lei was able to join the national team early to find his form for the 12-team tournament, reflects the importance the national team places on the tournament.
According to the analysis of soccer data website footballranking, the Chinese men's football team to compete for the top two direct out of the group less than 6%, the chance to win the first group is only 1.71%, even if the third-place qualification for the play-offs, but also less than 15.36% of the chance. For Li Tie and his "Iron Family Army", the baptism of the 40 strong match gives them the opportunity to show themselves on a bigger stage, this is the time to create a miracle, but also the best opportunity to fight for common glory.
