In the fierce competition in 2001, the Chinese team, like a dark horse, managed to get out of the group two rounds in advance and embarked on the journey to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. Although Zhang Jilong's magic stroke for the Chinese team to bring a certain advantage, but objectively speaking, the strength of the national football team at that time can not be underestimated, especially in the back line, can be said to be one of the best in Asia.
In the first round, they beat the UAE at home with a score of 3-0, while in the second round they won away from home with a 2-0 victory over Oman, in the third round they drew 1-1 away from home with Qatar, in the fourth round they beat Uzbekistan again at home with a score of 2-0, in the fifth round they narrowly won away from home against the UAE with a score of 1-0, in the sixth round they won away from home with a score of 1-0 against Oman, and in the seventh round they won away from home with a score of 3-0 against Qatar. In the final round of away games, despite a 0-1 defeat against Uzbekistan, head coach Milo sent in a large number of substitutes in the final round. If all the main players had played, perhaps the result would have been very different. However, the fact that the team only conceded two goals in eight matches fully demonstrates the strength of the team, and the road to promotion can be regarded as well-deserved.
Let's take a look back at the main backline of the Chinese team at that time. Goalkeeper Jiang Jin, 1.98 meters tall, has excellent goal-line skills, and is more than capable of saving overhead kicks and penalty kicks. Although his range of control was limited and his reaction was a little slow, he was still honored as the best goalkeeper in the Asian Cup in 2000. Although he may not be the best goalkeeper in Asia, he is ranked in the top five without any doubt.
Fan Zhiyi, needless to say, was crowned the Asian Footballer of the Year for his outstanding performance in the 2001 Big Ten. He is often selected as the captain of the Asian Stars United team and is undoubtedly one of the top center backs in Asia. The young Li Wei Feng is similar in style to Fan Zhiyi, with a strong body, excellent frontal defense, superb header skills, and even more explosive mental combativeness.
Sun Jihai, fast, outstanding round-trip ability and excellent passing skills. At that time, every national team in Asia was eager to have a right back like Sun Jihai. The away match against Qatar in China's top ten, can be called the most difficult battle, but the Qatar team almost always close to Sun Jihai, constantly attacking the left side of the Yang Pu guard.
Wu Chengying, who seems to be the most obscure of all these defenders, is a typical player whose strength is greater than his fame. Wu's style of play is very similar to Sun Jihai's, with his ability to attack and defend as well as his reputation as a "desperate man". Even so, Wu is still regarded as the best left-back in Chinese soccer in the last 30 years.
Replacement goalkeepers include An Qi and Au Chuliang; replacement center backs include Zhang Enhua and Du Wei; replacement wing backs include Yang Pu, Wei Xin and Xu Yunlong. It is worth mentioning that Xu Yunlong missed the top ten matches due to injury. It should be noted that Xu Yunlong is Milu's favorite player, so he played in three group games in the 2002 World Cup. Overall, the defense lineup of the national football team was top-notch in Asian football at the time.
