In the Norwegian youth storm, Hou Yongyong became the favorite of youth teams at all levels with his extraordinary soccer talent. From U15 to U18, he had the green light all the way, and he has dressed for the national team many times, scoring goals all the time.
In 2024, Houillon dominated the Norwegian League, winning the Golden Boot award with a staggering 19 goals. In one season, he played 29 matches for Lanham, starting all of them and missing only one, offering a dazzling 19 goals and 8 assists. What's more, he was also honored as the best player of the season in the Norwegian League.
Why does the national soccer team turn a blind eye to such outstanding players? Some people question the level of the Norwegian League, arguing that the standard of national soccer players is equivalent to the English League, while the Norwegian League is similar to the English League B, which is roughly equivalent to the Chinese League. The national soccer team usually doesn't consider players at the level of the Central League.
However, there are media members who strongly support the Norwegian League, pointing out that its level is not low. Take the Norwegian Premier League champions Bodø, who have often participated in European matches in recent years, as an example, their outstanding performance in the UEFA Cup is enough to prove that the level of the Norwegian League Lanham is equivalent to that of the top players in the Chinese Super League. This season, Bodø beat Portuguese Premier League giants Porto 3:2 at home in the UEFA Cup, which shows their remarkable strength. So, why no one in the national soccer team can get a foothold in the Norwegian League? Has Ivan considered this question? Perhaps, the Chinese staff has not thought deeply about it yet, but the media people have already noticed something.
In fact, compared with the offense, the biggest shortcoming of the current national soccer team is the defense. In the first four rounds of matches, the national soccer team scored only 4 goals, while the number of goals conceded was as high as 13. Although the offensive firepower is second only to Japan, which has scored the most goals among the six teams in Group C, and tied for second with Australia and Indonesia, the mistakes on the defensive end are worrying. Especially against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, although they scored a lot of goals, they conceded too many, exposing the deficiencies of the defense.
Ivan's tactical thinking should probably start with strengthening the defense.
