Although the Chinese women's soccer team failed to reach the final in the Asian Games, the journey has not yet come to an end. According to the schedule, we will next face Uzbekistan for the third and fourth place honors. Although we are not competing for the gold medal, as the hosts, we need to strive for the best with our limited resources. Even in the third and fourth place finals, the Chinese women's soccer team will have to go all out to finish third, or at least secure a spot in the top three, in order to ensure the stability of Coach Shui Qingxia's position.
Facing the limited strength of the Uzbekistan women's soccer team, although it is only ranked ninth in Asia, the Chinese women's soccer team must not take it lightly to prevent accidental loss of points. In addition, on the eve of the battle for the third place, the women's soccer team had a change in its lineup, with the two rising stars Shen Mengyu and Zhang Linyan bidding farewell to the national team in advance and withdrawing from the competition for the third and fourth places. On the one hand, they had communicated with the administrators and received approval before leaving the team; on the other hand, the coaching team of Shui Qingxia had also made a comprehensive assessment of the opponents, and the two teams won by 6 goals in the group stage, so we were confident to deal with it.
Shen Mengyu, who has missed two rounds of the USSR Women's Super League and has not yet secured a starting spot, returns to the team in a hurry, aiming for Celtic Women's clash with Motherwell Women's on October 8, as well as a major battle with Glasgow City, and the coaching staff expects Shen to be back in time to prepare for the match. Zhang Linyan, on the other hand, has arrived at English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur to begin her new journey.
However, due to the new Tottenham Hotspur signings, the club needs to follow a series of processes including medical check-ups, welcome ceremonies, training, etc., and Shen Mengyu and Zhang Linyan need to be approved by the coaching staff before they can take the field. According to the Premier League schedule, Tottenham Hotspur will play Bristol Women's Football Team on October 8, and with time running out, Zhang Linyan may be absent, debuting in the third round at the earliest. The outstanding performance in the Asian Games will also help Zhang Linyan to integrate into her new club faster.
It is worth mentioning that some fans believe that the playing time given to Shen Mengyu by Shui Qingxia's coaching team is too short for her. Shen Mengyu was only given a 10-minute appearance in the match despite having proven herself in the Scottish Premier League. In fact, Shen Mengyu is also a member of Celtic's Chinese national team and has performed well in the league. However, her failure to get a call-up suggests that the Chinese women's soccer team's replacement of the old and the new should not be delayed.
