With only three days left, the Chinese national soccer team will embark on a World Cup qualifier away to Thailand. The expedition is a far cry from the national team of President Chen Xuyuan's era. Oriental Sports Daily disclosed that the team will arrive in Bangkok on the afternoon of the 14th. A noteworthy detail is that for this trip to Thailand, the national football team will be traveling by civil aviation instead of chartered flights. Recalling the Chen Xuyuan era, whenever a major away game, the team more use chartered flights, and equipped with a team of professional chefs to ensure that the players diet.
Song Kai took office, decisively canceled the charter system, not to mention not equipped with an exclusive team of chefs for the national football team. The treatment of the national soccer team on this road trip is even more austere. Song Kai himself will personally go to the airport to see off the team, but chose not to accompany the team to Thailand to supervise the game. The top management of the Football Association will also not accompany the team. Currently, the team is actively preparing for the game in Shenzhen, Song Kai also came to the scene, encouraging the players to take off the burden and strive for good results. This move is undoubtedly to reduce the pressure on the players.
Song Kai not only focuses on the preparation of the national team, but also goes into the grassroots to inspect the soccer youth training in Shenzhen. Coach Jankovic was full of confidence in the interview, vowing to lead the team to the group. However, from the performance of the warm-up matches, the players did not reach the best state. In recent years, the level of the national football team has declined to a certainty, the away battle is undoubtedly full of challenges.
The CFA's shift is obvious, with the elimination of chartered flights and teams of professional chefs, and the senior leadership no longer personally supervising away matches. The move may be aimed at keeping a low profile for the players and reducing pressure, or it may be to avoid public pressure on the new leadership team. This is a reflection of the fact that the FA does not have high expectations for this trip to Thailand, but just wants the team to keep the away game without conceding a goal.
The group stage is a matter of life and death, if you do not beat Thailand in the first game, the prospects of the national football team will be a sharp turn. Even if the second match at home, facing the strong strength of the South Korean team, winning is almost hopeless. Therefore, the away match with Thailand is a crucial battle for the national soccer team.
