As night falls, on January 31st in the capital city, a contest for honor comes to a quiet end. In the just-concluded Women's Asian Cup quarter-final battle, China's women's soccer team with a narrow 3-1 advantage over Vietnam, head into the quarter-finals, their next battle will be in the land of the East and Japan's women's soccer team. Amidst the cheers of this victory, the head coach of the women's soccer team, Shui Qingxia, faced the media and was in high spirits.
Shui Qingxia revealed in the post-match conference, "Despite conceding a goal at one point, our players remained firm in implementing the coaching staff's instructions in terms of mentality and technical tactics. We strengthened the opponents' pressure when they were in possession of the ball and quickly equalized the score. This experience is undoubtedly a valuable growth for them. I also gave them full encouragement during the halftime break."
In the face of the ups and downs on the field, Shui Qingxia said firmly, "Every moment on the field can be challenging, but I want them to keep in mind that a soccer game lasts the full 90 minutes and anything can happen. I hope they can keep building up their confidence in the game."
Talking about why there was no substitution adjustment at halftime, Shui Qingxia explained, "As a coach, I can't replace individual players because of their momentary poor performance. They need the opportunity and time to adjust, and in the second half we could see a significant improvement in their performance."
Coming up against the Japanese women's soccer team in the semifinals, Shui Qingxia is full of expectation: "Facing the Japanese team, I hope everyone can be more confident on the field, play to their strengths, enjoy the process of the game, and don't have to worry too much about the result."
"Both teams have their own characteristics and anything can happen in a 90-minute game. I hope we can earn this win." (DD)
