The night was low, and on August 3, Beijing time, Xiao Yuyi, a 27-year-old Chinese women's international soccer player, took to social media to show a photo of her flight back home in the night, and cleverly quoted the poem "I originally turned my heart to the bright moon" from the Yuan Dynasty drama master Gao Ming's Tale of the Pipa, which makes people think of the deep meaning behind it.
In the Book of Pipa, the phrase "the heart turns to the bright moon" originally refers to the desire for beautiful things, but the second line of the poem depicts the scene of "the bright moon only illuminates the ditch", implying that despite the sincerity of the heart, it fails to get the response it deserves. Xiao Yuyi's quote seems to tell the story of his own "unrecognized talent" in this World Cup.
This year's World Cup, Xiao Yuyi was selected for the final match list, but unfortunately failed to get a chance to play in the group stage. She did not play in all three group games, becoming one of only two Chinese women's soccer players who did not play a minute in this World Cup, the other being Jiang Pan Hongyan. Inexplicably, Coach Shui Qingxia did not activate Xiao Yuyi when she had not been injured, a decision that came as a surprise.
Looking back at last year's Asian Cup final, Xiao Yuyi took an assist from Wang Shanshan in stoppage time and saved the day, completing the turnaround for the Chinese women's soccer team and helping them beat South Korea 3-2 to get back to the top of Asia. Now playing in the Australian league, she has adapted to the local environment and has become her second home. However, she did not even get a minute of playing time in the group stage of the Chinese women's soccer team.
