At 19:30 GMT on May 30, the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center will be the focus of attention as China's men's soccer team will face Guam for a valuable spot in Group A of the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifying Tournament. Guam, ranked lowest in the group by FIFA, lost their first five matches and experienced a managerial change only a month ago. Facing the Guam team, which previously beat the national soccer team 7-0, our team will receive up to 1 million dollars in bonus incentives if they win.
In the early stages of the World Qualifying Tournament under the impact of the epidemic, Guam has lost all five of its matches, scoring only two goals and conceding a whopping 19, placing them at the bottom of Group A and making them the only team certain of not qualifying for the World Cup finals. Guam is ranked 198th in FIFA's latest rankings, which puts them at the bottom of the group. Guam's highest ranking in history is only 146th, and its average ranking is 191st, which shows that it is a weak team.
Our team's head-to-head record with Guam shows that the two teams met in the 2000 Asian Cup qualifiers, when our team won 19-0, the most lopsided score of any meeting between the two teams; on October 10, 2019, in the first round of the World Qualifying Tournament, our team again won 7-0, which was the last international A-level match our team played on their home field; Yang Xu scored the only four, with goals from Wu Lei, Wu Xi and Ackerson.
On April 16 of this year, former head coach Carl Dodd resigned due to a family emergency and returned to Australia. on April 25, the Guam Football Association announced that Korean-born coach Seo Dong-won had taken over as head coach to direct the team for the remainder of the group stage of the World Preliminary Round 40 tournament. Seo Dong-won was the head coach of a college team in South Korea and was named Coach of the Year in 2016. He was also a member of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Skills Research Team and is currently a member of the Korea Workers Union Skills Research Team.
Due to the epidemic, Seo Dong-won did not personally travel to Guam after his appointment, but briefly communicated with several Guam internationals via Zoom video. The Guam team's domestic training is run by the Guam Football Association's technical director, another South Korean, Kim Shonhoon. Prior to the resumption of the World Qualifying Tournament, Seo Dong-won presented the team with goals for the short training camp, including increasing team awareness, tactical scoring, zone defense, and coordination on defense.
On May 14, the Guam Football Association announced its 24-player roster for the tournament. Compared to the last roster against our team, the list recommended by Seo Dong Won and Kim Shon Hoon has been significantly changed, with only 11 players from the last roster, including 16-year-old star Stenson, who was selected last time, who was dropped this time around, and goalkeepers Jaya, Marlon Evans, Hale Hale, and Justin Lee, who are returning after missing the last match against our team.
Team Guam played an in-house instructional game at the National Team Training Facility on the evening of the 18th of Domestic Time, which was streamed live via the website even though the game was not open to spectators. The Blue Team defeated the White Team by a score of 8-4, with the Blue Team utilizing a 5-4-1 formation in the first half.
As seen in the game, Guam's players were generally slow, especially in handling the ball, and some of them were not "lean" enough. It is worth noting that six of the players, including Hale Hale, play in the United States, even though their teams are college teams, and these players play offense in the midfield.
In general, Guam's international players are less "professional" and more motivated by their love of the sport. However, 30-year-old midfielder Mark Chaguaraf has earned his AFC Level B coaching certificate, so they are not all "just for fun" players.
According to the itinerary released by the Guam Football Association (GFA), the Guam team had departed the country on the 20th. The team, led by Korean coach Seo Dong-won, is scheduled to enter the country on the 23rd, and then train for a week in the country before the game against our team. Seo Dong-won has asked the team to face the challenge bravely, try their best to create problems for the opponents, and show the Guam fans the spirit of never giving up! (Cheuk Oyu)
With Guam's 24-man roster
Goalkeepers: Sean Evans, Dallas Jaye
Defensemen: Marlon Evans, Isiah Lagutang, Alexander Lee, Justin Lee, Nathaniel Lee, Morgan McKenna, Leon Morimoto, Ryan Kitugua Jr.
Forward: Sean Agee, Mark Chaguaraf, Jason Cunliffe, Kyle Halehale, Shane Healy, John Matkin, Devan Mendiolaan, Tony Moon, Travis Nicholaw, Eduardo Pedemont, Nathan Sablan
