On November 16th, the Chinese soccer team will face Thailand on the road in the first round of the Asian Zone 36 tournament. For the national soccer team, this battle can not afford to lose. Once defeated, the national soccer team will once again have no chance with the World Cup, although the number of places in the Asian zone has increased to 8.5.
South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, these three teams constitute the group opponents of the national football team. In terms of overall strength, Singapore is undoubtedly the weakest in the group, South Korea will undoubtedly win the title with ease, while the national soccer team will have to fight with Thailand for the second place in the group.
Thailand was once a fishbowl division in the eyes of our country, but it has risen to prominence in the World Qualification Tournament, completely overturning the pattern of the Asian World Qualification Tournament. Although our country and Thailand in nearly 20 years of meetings in the absolute advantage, with 17 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses of the results of pride, but the Hefei that 1-5 defeat is still fresh in our minds.
In the recent warm-up match of the national soccer team, facing the slightly less powerful Vietnamese team, the national soccer team exposed a clear disadvantage on the field. Although the team eventually won 2-0, there were more than 10 Olympic players in the opposing team. Facing the Thailand team, which has similar strength and similar playing style, the national soccer team seems to have little chance of winning.
Against this backdrop, Coach Jankovic appears to be very pragmatic. According to Guangzhou Daily, the minimum goal of the national soccer team against Thailand is only 1 point. In the training, Jankovic did not ask the team to attack, but focus on practicing the counterattack tactics of 3 center backs or 5 backs. This shows that Yankovic has a clear understanding of the strength of both sides.
However, if the national football team abandons the offense, it will undoubtedly lose the initiative. Thai players have distinctive styles and outstanding foot skills. If the national football team blindly defends, it is difficult to organize an effective attack. In this case, the national football team can only hope on Wu Lei. Wu Lei, who returned to the Chinese Super League (CSL) from La Liga last year, has ushered in the second peak of his career, not only helping Shanghai Seaport win the CSL title, but also almost becoming the Golden Boot of the CSL this season. If Wu Lei scores for the national soccer team in this match, it will also refresh his goal scoring record in the preliminaries.
Of course, the national football team can't take their opponents lightly. After all, the national soccer team is ranked 79th in the world, 33 places higher than Thailand. Considering the fact that they are playing on the road and the fact that the national players have just finished the league and are in a tired state of health, it would be a pragmatic goal to get a point on the road and then come back to the home field and beat Thailand.
