On December 18th, our national soccer team departed to the United Arab Emirates to prepare for the upcoming Asian Cup. During this critical period, coach Jankovic accepted an exclusive interview with the media and talked about the topics that are close to the hearts of many fans. Through his words, we may be able to glimpse the team's expectations and attitude towards the Asian Cup.
Talking about the set goals of the Asian Cup, our team managed to enter the last eight of the last tournament, which is already quite an outstanding achievement in the Asian soccer world. The Football Association has not yet announced the specific target, but the outside world is generally speculated that at least with the last session is comparable. In the face of this doubt, Yankovic did not reveal the specific targets.
He said that as a coach, he is judged on the team's ability to play with the expected skills and tactics. Just like the world qualifiers, our goals can only be achieved step by step in the upcoming matches. At the moment, all the players are expecting us to excel, and as a team we have a tiny goal, but instead of talking big, we should focus on the first match against Tajikistan and give it our best.
This time, the national soccer team traveled with more than 20 people, and some players will not be in the final list. In this regard, Jankovic said that about the final list, we will decide through the preparation process. I'm not worried about that. Every player deserves to be called up and has the strength to participate in the tournament.
Our Asian Cup group stage opponents Qatar and Lebanon have recently changed coaches, which has both advantages and disadvantages for us. The advantage is the instability of the opponents, but the disadvantage is that the tactics of the new coaches may require us to adapt. Jankovic emphasized that we should not focus too much on our opponents, but on ourselves, gathering enough information to ensure that we are not disrupted by unexpected situations on the field.
In fact, it is clear from Yankovic's speech that the FA may have given internal instructions not to let him easily reveal the clear objectives of the Asian Cup. Our team's strength in Asia may reach the top eight limit. If the opponents encountered after the group stage are too strong, it may be difficult to break through to the top eight, so keeping a low profile at this time is not a bad thing.
The opponents for the Asian Cup group stage include Qatar, Lebanon and Tajikistan. Although Qatar is slightly stronger, Lebanon and Tajikistan also have a number of naturalized players, all want to win the Asian Cup group qualification, began to actively prepare for the game. Hopefully, the national soccer team's trip to the Asian Cup will live up to expectations and bring surprises to fans.
