The national soccer team was treated to a double whammy of warm-up matches as both games came to a close on the field in the golden month of October. In the match with Vietnam, the national team had the last laugh with a 2-goal advantage, while the showdown with Uzbekistan is regarded as a key battle to improve the strength of the team. Although Uzbekistan's ranking in Asia is only one place higher than ours, it is actually a strong team that is firmly in the middle and upper reaches of Asia. To return to the top ten in Asia, the national soccer team must first cross the difficult barrier of Uzbekistan, the importance of which is self-evident. Since returning to the field three years ago, the national football team attaches great importance to this game, and the full-strength lineup will play. Uzbekistan, however, did not dare to slacken off, and also sent most of their main players.
However, judging from the course of the game, it was clear that Uzbekistan had the upper hand, with 60% to 80% of the ball in their possession, and their tactics were no longer to simply draw the feet, but to combine pressurized penetration in the middle with the edges. Throughout the game, Uzbekistan had 24 shots on goal, while China only had 4, making their performance on the attacking end slightly weak. In addition, in terms of set-pieces, Uzbekistan won 10 corners, while China had only one, which undoubtedly exposed the inadequacy of our country in the basis of offensive conversion, and is also one of the reasons for the low number of shots on goal.
Nonetheless, the national soccer team had a slight advantage in shooting efficiency, hitting the goal frame three times out of four, which was a great threat. In contrast, Uzbekistan's 24 shots only hit the goal frame eight times, a 33.3% hitting rate, showing the strikers' shortcomings in seizing opportunities. Although the match ended in a loss, the defeat was also an opportunity for the national soccer team to look for gaps and make up for deficiencies. However, the loss also brought additional losses, as star player Wang Qiuming left the game after only 45 minutes of play and was reportedly sent to the hospital.
After imaging tests, 30-year-old international player Wang Qiuming was diagnosed with a collateral ligament injury in his knee and will need to take a break from the game to await rehabilitation. This not only affects the league, but may even affect the next World Qualifier. Knee injuries have a long recovery cycle, and even after recovery, the individual's ability and form will need to be restored gradually.
The news is undoubtedly a heavy blow to this season's dark horse team, the Jinmen Tigers. Wang Qiuming had been the only main international player of Jinmen Tigers, and in the previous match against Vietnam, he contributed a goal with a height of 1.73 meters to be the winner. Now, he has become the only international player to suffer a serious injury in October.
So far this season, Wang Qiuming has made 28 appearances, contributing 6 goals and 1 assist. With Jinmen Tigers' core player injured, head coach Yu Genwei is faced with the heavy task of finding a suitable replacement to make up for this loss, which is undoubtedly a huge challenge for the team.
