Shui Qingxia's tactical decision-making is as foggy as it is confusing, as she chants about breaking new ground for young players while keeping the two national youth captains on the back burner in a move that baffles the mind.
In the match with England, even though Denmark of Europe and Haiti of North America only let England take away a point, while Nigeria of Africa lost 2-4 in the match with England, losing on penalties. But Asia's Chinese women's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking 1-6 loss in front of England. As the winning team of the Asian Cup, such a performance really calls into question whether Asian teams are so unbeatable in the World Cup. This is not the case, as the Japanese women's soccer team has advanced to the last eight!
This year's World Cup, Shui Qingxia's lineup has always been confusing. In the first match against Denmark, she not only hid the star of the team Wang Frost on the bench, but also abandoned the Asian Cup heroes Tang Jiali and Xiao Yuyi. 0-1 defeat, many fans have predicted that China's women's soccer team is about to say goodbye to the World Cup. What is even more puzzling is that Shui Qingxia also discarded Zhu Yu and pushed Xu Huan into the starting goalkeeper position, and many fans believe that Xu Huan's mistakes led to the loss of the Chinese women's soccer team.
During the press conference, Shui Qingxia said bluntly that she should give more opportunities to the youngsters. This seemed to be a reference to her pushing Xu Huan into the starting lineup. However, Shui Qingxia also said that she would give the youngsters a chance, but she would also realize her dream for the veterans, even if it meant giving up the national youth captain. Indeed, after watching the Chinese women's soccer team's three matches, we realized that Shui Qingxia did give chances to young players, but more often than not, she gave such chances to Xu Huan. Meanwhile, many veterans such as Gu Yasha are fading away.
In this World Cup, some veterans such as Zhang Xin, Zhang Rui and Lou Jiahui have been widely questioned. Zhang Xin has said bluntly that her dream is to score goals in the World Cup. Shui Qingxia was a favorite player under her when she coached Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank. In this World Cup, Shui Qingxia reused Zhang Xin, perhaps in the hope that she could realize her dream. Unfortunately, Zhang Xin's performance did not meet expectations, sparking questions from fans.
Despite being a young player, Zhang Linyan has grown into a starter for the Asian Cup. This World Cup, two talented young players, national youth captain Wang Linlin and midfield commander Shen Mengyu, failed to get any chance. Shen Mengyu only played 20 minutes as a substitute in the first match, and only appeared in extra time in the final match. Wang Linlin was even worse, not getting a chance to play until the last 30 seconds of the game. Why did Shui Qingxia prefer to play the impactful striker Wang Shanshan as a center back rather than Wang Linlin? Shen Mengyu was the midfield commander, but Shui Qingxia insisted on reusing Zhang Rui and Zhang Xin, all of which is puzzling. I really can't figure out what kind of drugs Shui Qingxia is selling in her gourd.
