On the night of January 27th, the Chinese men's soccer team lost 0-2 to Japan in the seventh round of Group B of the World Cup Asian Qualifying Tournament. After the match, the national team was once again in the predicament of only having a theoretical possibility of qualifying. However, as far as this match is concerned, two young U23 players, Zhu Chenjie and Dai Weijun, performed reasonably well, which at least temporarily keeps people's expectations for the national soccer team alive.
Zhu Chenjie did a great job defending Takumi Minamino's shot.
In this game, Zhu Chenjie partnered with Jiang Guangtai in the center back, and after the first few games, the under 22 year old player's performance is getting more and more refined. In the first half, the national football team was almost suppressed by the Japanese team in the half-field, the ball possession rate is pitifully low, as the defense players, especially the center back, under enormous pressure. Despite the fact that the national soccer team was awarded a penalty kick only 10 minutes into the first half and fell behind 0-1, Zhu Chenjie still accomplished his task brilliantly. Throughout the first half, despite Japan's many corner kick opportunities, the first penalty kicks were basically fought over by national soccer center backs Zhu Chenjie and Jiang Guangtai.
Not only that, Zhu Chenjie also had a very good performance in the first half. In the 38th minute, the Japanese team's pass to tear open the defense of the national football team, Takumi Nanno got the ball in the penalty area, left foot a buckle, right foot down the trend of the shot, Zhu Chenjie, although at first was shaken a little bit, but by virtue of the excellent physical conditions, he controlled the center of gravity, with the body to complete the blocking of Takumi Nanno shot. It can be said that this block demonstrated Zhu Chenjie's good physical talent and growing confidence.
Second goal conceded by national soccer team is related to Zhu Chenjie
In the first half, the national football team did not threaten the Japanese goal at all, after the intermission, the national football team obviously wanted to find opportunities in the attack, the whole team pressed up. This also puts a higher demand on the back line, and the result is also the change of the national football team, so that the Japanese team once again found a chance. Japan's substitute left back Yuta Nakayama cross, the ball came to the center of the penalty area of the national football team, at the moment the unguarded Ito Junya back row inserted jumped up and header, to help the Japanese team to extend the score.
This goal and Zhu Chenjie and left back Zheng Zheng Zheng are responsible for, Zheng Zheng did not stuck position, gave Ito Junya insertion opportunity, and Zhu Chenjie as a center back did not pay attention to observe the situation, there is out of position, misjudgment and did not in the landing point in time to destroy. It can be said that Junya Ito took advantage of the gap between the two men and the lack of tacit understanding to find a header on goal. Zhu Chenjie and the left back Zheng Zheng is the first time partner, from the whole game, the two people in the coordination of the real problem, and this problem by the powerful and experienced Japanese team successfully seized. Zhu Chenjie's performance can be said to be a mixed bag.
Dai Weijun was positive in his debut as a substitute.
In the 64th minute, Dai Weijun, another U23 player of the national soccer team, came on the field for Zheng Zheng. This was Dai Weijun's first appearance for the national soccer team after completing his membership change. Although he replaced left back Zheng Zheng, he stood in his more familiar position at the back, while original back Wang Shenchao dropped back to the left. As soon as he came on, Dai Weijun dropped back to the front of the box to get the ball, trying to immediately connect the backline with the midfield. In the following game, Dai Weijun not only moved in the back position, he also moved forward to the front position for many times, whether it was scrambling or passing, he was very active and proactive.
In his limited time on the pitch, Dai Weijun showed the trait of being bold with the ball and doing well in defense. Once on the left side of the field, when Wei Shihao's ball was destroyed by a Japanese player, Dai Weijun grabbed the ball in time and won a well-placed free kick for the national soccer team. He then went on to show his ability to pass the ball, being able to spot openings and get the ball across in time. At least in the 30 minutes he was on the pitch, people saw the future of Dai Weijun, and his performance is also something that is currently missing in the domestic young players. One statistic that stood out for Dai Weijun was that he made all 14 of his passes, including a long one.
Zhu Chenjie and Dai Weijun were the only two U23 players after Guo Tianyu missed this trip due to family and stay-at-home affairs. Although there is still a lot of room for improvement in both of them, the performance from this game at least gives a glimmer of hope in them.
