As the clock strikes zero on November 21, 2022, the flame of the Qatar World Cup is officially lit. On the eve of the opening of the tournament, from October 21, the poster news will start the "world" treasure dictionary series, for the real soccer fans and "laymen" to provide a wealth of talking points.
Even if you're a self-proclaimed "fake fan", there's always something to talk about during this quadrennial event.
Although we still haven't seen the Chinese team in this Qatar World Cup, such a sight seems to have become a habit. Let's not forget that twenty years ago, Chinese soccer also had its share of glory - on October 7, 2001, defeating their opponents 1-0 in the top ten of the world qualifying rounds, which was the first and only time in the history of Chinese soccer that they broke into the final round of the World Cup.
In the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, the match between China and Brazil became an eternal memory.
One might ask why China was able to make it to the World Cup finals 20 years ago, but is now relegated to a supporting role. The answer is self-evident: one is the stagnation of China's soccer prowess, and the other is that it was just the right time and place at the time to achieve the national team's glory.
First, let's talk about strength.
When the Chinese men's soccer team stepped into the World Cup with its powerful lineup, the main players in each position were all "famous" in the soccer world. Fan Zhiyi, Li Tie, Li Xiaopeng, Zhao Junzhe, Yu Genwei, Ma Mingyu, Wu Chengen, etc., are all players of extraordinary strength. In the early stage of the professionalization of Chinese soccer, these predecessors supported Chinese soccer with the spirit of "all for one".
Zhao Junzhe was sadly missed with a good shot on goal against Brazil.
However, with the passage of time, the strength of Chinese soccer has not been improved, this feeling is particularly obvious. From the end of the 90s to the beginning of the new century, the Chinese men's soccer team played "hard" against top Asian teams such as Iran and Japan, while the first decade of the 21st century was spent in fierce battles with Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan, Syria and other teams; until 2013, when they lost a 1-5 match against Thailand's youth team, the Chinese men's soccer team has become more diversified, including Oman and Vietnam. The Chinese men's soccer team's opponents have also become more diverse, including Oman and Vietnam.
On February 1, 2022, the Chinese men's soccer team lost to Vietnam in a 1-3 match.
In addition to strength, there is also the effect of timing.
Unlike the Qatar World Cup, which had 4.5 places for Asia, the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan was much more competitive with only 3.5 places for Asia. Some may argue that South Korea and Japan, as hosts, will cherish the opportunity to participate, but such a view is too one-sided.
In fact, South Korea and Japan only had one host slot in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. In other words, while both teams could have advanced directly, they took up two of the advancement slots, meaning that only 2.5 Asian teams could have competed fairly at the time.
The Chinese men's soccer team was able to advance thanks to fewer matches against Japan and South Korea, as well as top ten signings. In the first 40 matches, the Chinese men's soccer team was grouped with Cambodia, Indonesia and Maldives, and managed to advance to the first place in the group by winning 6 out of 6 matches.
The top ten were divided into two groups, with the first in each group advancing directly. China were grouped with the UAE, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Oman, avoiding tough opponents like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
In the strong strength of the time and Japan and South Korea do not participate in the "right place, right time", the Chinese team in the 10 rounds of the tournament with 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss record stood out in the sixth round of the group stage after the victory over Oman, two rounds ahead of the promotion quota locked.
Yu Genwei's goal wrote a page of history for the Chinese men's soccer team.
