At a coaching seminar organized by the Japan Football Association, newly renewed national team boss Morihiro Mori disclosed his outlook for the new cycle, suggesting, "In the next World Cup, we will control the tempo from half-time to win. Although we did not deliberately control the tempo, we seemed to be out of our depth." This strategy is seen as the core competitive strategy for the new cycle, "By controlling the ball in the backcourt, digging into the opponent's weaknesses and exploiting them will be of great benefit on the offensive end. It may pose a challenge, but such a risk is necessary for World Cup glory." Mori Bowie called it "painful", but compared to Chinese soccer, this "pain" is more like a harbinger of happiness.
On December 28th last year, the Japan Football Association announced that Mori Bao-yi had been re-elected, making him the first manager to be re-elected after a World Cup since the 1998 World Cup. After the official statement, Mori Bao-yi revealed that the two deputies who fought with him in the Qatar World Cup will not renew their contracts, and he will carefully select a new coaching team. All signs indicate that the Japanese team has turned the page on the Qatar World Cup and is moving towards a new journey of conquest, which is undoubtedly the envy of Chinese fans.
Vietnamese media broke the news that Troussier has reached a preliminary agreement with the Vietnam Football Federation to take over as head coach of the Vietnamese team following the departure of Park Hang-su. Coincidentally, the South Korean team also seems to be looking for a new coach. After Bento's resignation, the KFA had finalized its policy of selecting a local coach, but after German Michael Muller took over as head of the federation's strategy committee, he vetoed the list of candidates proposed by his predecessor. According to Korean media reports, Jose Bordallas, who coaches Valencia, has emerged as the new favorite in South Korea. Unlike most Spanish coaches, Bordalas focuses more on defense and consistency, on top of which he pursues an efficient offense. He prides himself on leading Getafe to a fifth-place finish in La Liga in the 2018/19 season, but lacks national team coaching experience. The media believe that his personal tactical style is similar to that of Paulo Bento, which will help the continuation and development of the national team's tactics.
Compared to its Asian rivals, the Chinese men's soccer team seems to be stagnant in the selection of coaches. On the one hand, the Football Association is no longer as strong as in the past, it is difficult to provide high salaries to attract well-known coaches; on the other hand, the Football Association high-level "accidents" also let the selection of the coach stalled. But time waits for no one, candidates will not wait indefinitely. Reports indicate that Paulo Bento, who has just resigned from South Korea, has become the ideal candidate for the new coach of the national soccer team, but may now move to the Polish team.
Paolo Bento has been rumored to be with Poland since the beginning of last year, during which even Cannavaro was involved. The NFF appointed 52-year-old local coach Mihnevic as the World Qualifiers approached. Mihnevich led the team to World Cup qualification and retained a first-class spot in the Europa League. Despite Poland's last-16 finish at the Qatar World Cup, Mihnevich's performance was perfect. However, Poland's performance at the World Cup sparked dissatisfaction in the media and among fans due to overly conservative tactics, leading the federation to cancel plans to renew his contract in favor of finding a new coach. In an interview with the media last week, FA president Kulesza said that the new coach would be revealed soon, "It depends on the other party, and the most important criterion is whether he has had experience of coaching the national team. I already know who it is and we know that it may take a few days to make this decision. The talks are over and we are waiting for a reply from the other side. The Europa League is just around the corner and qualifying for it is the goal of our national team. Then the coach has other goals."
Paolo Bento and Vladimir Petkovic emerged as the two most popular candidates. Petkovic coached in Switzerland for seven years, participating in two Euro Cups and one World Cup, reaching the knockout stage and even the last eight of Euro 2020. In addition, he coached at Lazio. In contrast, Paulo Bento led Portugal to the quarterfinals of Euro 2012 and South Korea to the knockout stage of the World Cup in Qatar, but lacks the experience of coaching five league teams. According to the latest news from the Polish media, Paulo Bento will be the final winner and retain a seat on the coaching staff for a native Polish coach.
Few coaches have been involved with the Chinese national team coach. Recently, Wuhan Sanzhen Spanish coach Pedro also took the initiative to express his goodwill to the national football team, but at least for the time being, no response has been received. At present, it seems that the candidates for the new coach basically can not be determined before the first training of the national football team in 2023. Li, who has not yet officially resigned, is likely to continue to lead the team through training and subsequent overseas tours.
