What is striking is the high degree of overlap between the warm-up opponents picked by the Japanese and South Korean teams for the upcoming World Cup cycle. Japan will welcome three teams from South America, including Paraguay and Chile, and these opponents will travel all the way to East Asia to compete. This phenomenon not only reveals the top level of Japanese and South Korean soccer in Asia, but also meets the warm-up needs of many world powerhouse teams. At the same time, in order to enhance the warm-up effect of their own teams, the Japanese and South Korean football associations do not hesitate to invest huge sums of money. It is reported that the Japanese Football Association in order to invite the Brazilian team, paid up to 300 million yen (about 15.23 million yuan) appearance fee, this price in the current epidemic and the economic environment is particularly valuable. The Brazilian Football Association has accordingly promised to send its main lineup, including Neymar, to the tournament.
Despite the fact that the Japanese and South Korean soccer associations have spared no expense, they are equally concerned with frugality. The South American trio's trip to Asia may not be cost-effective if they only play one warm-up match. Therefore, these South American football associations to seek more affordable, accept the invitation of the Japanese and South Korean football associations is logical. Since high-level warm-up matches are usually scheduled six months or even more than a year before the tournament starts, information sharing becomes inevitable. What's more, by inviting the same opponents to warm-up matches at the same time, Japan and South Korea can save a lot of money. For example, the cost of the Brazilian team's trip to Asia will be shared between the Japanese and South Korean football associations.
As a core member of the East Asian Football Confederation (EAFC), the Chinese Football Association (CFA) could have worked hand-in-hand with the Japanese and South Korean Football Associations (JSAs) in terms of warm-up matches. In the past, high-level opponents such as the Uruguayan team, which the Chinese team had invited, also visited Japan and South Korea at the same time for warm-ups. Unfortunately, due to the impact of the epidemic, the match program for the new season of the Chinese Super League has not yet been determined. Due to China's early exclusion from the Qatar World Cup proper, there are no other important preparations for the current year. Due to the impact of the epidemic, other member associations' representative teams are unable to come to China to warm up in the short term, and the Chinese team has no plans to visit China in the near future, therefore, the CFA has considered giving up the match day cycle from May 30 to June 14 to the first phase of the Chinese Super League tournament.
Compared with Japan and South Korea, which occupy a leading position in the Asian soccer world, there are gaps in the technical and tactical levels of Chinese soccer as well as in many aspects off the field. In addition to envy rivals, Chinese soccer more need to be down-to-earth, with the spirit of practical work to lay a good foundation.
