As the third round of the AFC Champions League group stage came to a close, team performances made waves. Wuhan Sanzhen narrowly beat Hanoi of Vietnam 2-1, Zhejiang beat Kofu Fung Lam 2-0, and Shandong Taishan beat Incheon United 2-0 on the road. This may have something to do with the new FA president taking office, as the teams are looking to show their best spirit in front of their leaders and bring a visual feast to their fans. Overall, the Chinese Super League teams showed unprecedented resilience in this round of the AFC Champions League.
Since last year, few Chinese Super League teams have had such a "warm up" moment. Shandong Taishan, in particular, beat Incheon United 2-0 away from home, even if the referee favoritism and the main force of injury, but under the leadership of the Korean coach Choi Kang-hee, the team seems to present the most daring, the highest technical content of this season's battle.
However, the performance of Wuhan Sanzhen seems to be different. Despite scoring two goals against Vietnam, the overall performance was not spectacular. Especially late in the game, they were even scored a goal by an outnumbered Hanoi, Vietnam team, which was certainly a resounding slap in the face. However, considering the recent strife that has plagued Wuhan's three towns, these strife might just be the key factor affecting their form and performance.
Though some fans may be saying that this may be a "flashback" for the Chinese Super League teams, but no matter what, victory is the hard truth. In this round of matches, the three teams of the Chinese Super League scored six goals, of which Wei Shihao became the only Chinese player who scored after the goalkeeper made consecutive saves. For the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, the focus will be on who can come out on top in China.
On November 16th, the Chinese soccer team will face a huge challenge on the road against Thailand. Thailand's strength is not to be underestimated. This year, they have beaten Hong Kong, China 1-0, Lebanon 2-1 and Iraq 2-2. Facing such opponents, can the Chinese soccer team succeed against the odds? This is a question worth pondering.
We can see the disappointment and anger in Ma Dexing's comments on Wuhan Sanzhen's 2-1 defeat to Hanoi, Vietnam, pictured above. The national soccer team, on the other hand, will face South Korea at home after an away win against Thailand. Although the national soccer team had beaten South Korea 1-0 in the 2018 World Cup qualifier, that has become history. Now, for China to beat South Korea seems as absurd as Vietnam's victory over Brazil.
In a way, we probably don't have to be overly concerned about winning; as fans, it's more important to focus on which player can break the deadlock and get the team a goal.
