On the night of Beijing time, September 7, 23:00 sharp, the second round of World Cup Qualifying Asian Zone 12 matches opened with China facing Japan. Shortly after the start, Zhang Linpeng left the field with an injury, and Isao Osako seized the opportunity to score first for Japan. Although the Chinese team replaced Alan and Luo Guofu in the second half, and four naturalized players fought back, but finally failed to recover the disadvantage, 0-1 defeat Japan.
Japan is firmly in first place in Asia, while the Chinese men's soccer team is only in ninth place. Despite Japan's unexpected loss in the first round of the tournament, the power gap with the national soccer team is still obvious. Before the match, the national football team adopted a 5-3-2 tactical layout with the intention of converting solid defense into offense.
However, in only the second minute of the game, the back line of the national football team suffered a serious blow, Zhang Linpeng was injured in a fierce scramble and fell to the ground, unable to hold on to the game. The Chinese soccer team quickly made a substitution and replaced him with Zhu Chenjie.
In the 10th minute, a header from Eckerson gave Wu Lei a chance to shoot from inside the box, but it was deftly blocked by a defender. The national soccer team was then passive for most of the match, surrounded by Japan.
Japan had a great chance in the 38th minute when Kubo Kenyoung's long-range shot was parried by Yan Junling and Osako Yuya's follow-up shot bounced off the post.
Japan took a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute when a cross from Junya Ito was quickly parried by Isao Osako for a goal.
In the 54th minute, Li Ang's teasing cross into the box was deflected by Wu Xi's header.
In the 61st minute, Alan, Luo Guofu and Artemisia came on as substitutes for Yin Hongbo, Jin Jingdao and Li Ang, changing the formation to a 4-4-2, officially blowing the horn of the counterattack.
In the 66th minute, Wu Xi elbowed Isao Osako and was shown a yellow card, the accumulation of which will make him miss the next match against Vietnam.
In the 82nd minute, Wu Xi, who was carrying a yellow card, was replaced by Ji Zhongguo.
In the 86th minute, Yue Shibasaki made a surprise shot from the outside of the penalty area, which was parried by Yan Junling.
As the whistle blew for the end of the match, China went down 0-1 to Japan.
Comprehensive statistics show that the national soccer team is in an all-round disadvantage, with a possession rate of only 30%, while the Japanese team is as high as 70%. In terms of the number of shots on goal, the national soccer team had 3 shots on goal without a shot on goal, while the Japanese team had 18 shots on goal with 3 shots on goal. The corner kick ratio was 1-6, but despite this, the Chinese soccer team maintained a 1-goal disadvantage until the end of the match, leaving a small consolation for the fans.
The starting lineups for both sides are as follows:
China start: 1-Yan Junling, 2-Li Ang (62'8-Artemis Artemis), 5-Zhang Linpeng (5'22-Zhu Chenjie), 6-Jiang Guangtai, 3-Wang Stanley Chiu, 20-Wang Gang, 13-Jin Jingdao (62'11-Alan), 15-Wu Xi (84'16-Chi Zhongguo), 19-Yin Hongbo (62'21-Lo Guofu), 9-Exon, 7-Wu Lei
Substitutes: 23-Wang Dalei, 12-Liu Dianzheng, 4-Xu Xin, 10-Zhang Xizhe, 14-Gao Zhunyi, 17-Wu Xinghan, 18-Zhang Yuning
Japan start: 12-Shuichi Gonda, 3-Sung Muroyasu, 5-Yuto Nagatomo (87'4-Sho Sasaki), 6-Hang Endo, 7-Take Shibasaki, 14-Junya Ito (75'9-Dai Kamada), 15-Isayasu Osako, 16-Kenyo Tomiyasu, 17-Kengyo Kubo, 18-Hengyo Furuhashi (50'8-Motoki Haraguchi), 22-Mayu Yoshida.
Substitutes: 1-Yongji Kawashima, 23-Kozo Tani, 2-Director Ueda, 10-Adao, 11-Yasutoshi Don, 13-Yuta Nakayama, 19-Eisumasa Mamorita, 20-Shoko Genesis, 21-Visurai Yamane
