Our soccer team is about to embark on a new world qualifying campaign. Every now and then, fans invariably see this qualifier as the epitome of the World Cup. And why is that? After all, our national soccer team has repeatedly missed out on the World Cup! This decision of FIFA, with 8.5 places in the Asian zone, seems to make people hold their breath. It is reasonable to say that our national soccer team has repeatedly stood outside the threshold of the World Cup, such an achievement should be gratifying, yet the hearts of the nation's fans are full of loss. National soccer team, just like every family's children, despite the mediocre results from childhood to adulthood, but the parents that a heart of anticipation and worry, and who can really count?
Of course, in the preliminaries, our soccer team still needs to go all out and show its fighting spirit. Although the level of our country's soccer needs to be improved, but the attitude and spirit of the game must not be lost. The problems of Li Tie, Chen Xuyuan and Du Zhaocai have been solved, and the phenomenon of "circle dancing" no longer occurs in the preliminaries. Now, we will see if the leadership of the Football Association can make a difference. If the soccer environment improves, the professional players will definitely give their best!
However, there is one question we should ponder: are the international players recruited by the national soccer team really suitable? Why are those experienced "old men" still able to occupy positions in the national team? Some of the international players even ate sea cucumbers, but also difficult to achieve the expected results. Facing Asian opponents is completely different from facing Chinese Super League opponents. The rhythm of our league is relatively slow, even if the Taishan team in the Asian Championship and Yokohama Mariners, there are players who lamented the fast pace of the opponent. However, Taishan's coach, Mr. Choi, with his rich experience, led the team to beat Incheon United, a strong team in the K-League, on the road.
The head coach of our national football team is Lao Yang, who adheres to the three-center-defense system in terms of technology and tactics, and favors "outdated" veterans like Li Tie in terms of selection. As a result, many outstanding players were not selected for the national team. In recent years, the national team seems to have neglected Huang Zichang, although he was once called up by the third-tier national team, but once lost the elegance of the little yellow man. Nowadays, he and Zhong Yihao are performing well in the league, but have never been able to impress the coaching staff.
Huang Zichang, 26, has made 27 appearances and 24 starts for Henan this season, contributing 4 goals + 6 assists. If this preseason doesn't work out, he'll be 30 years old in 4 years and his chances are even slimmer. Zhong Yihao is 27 years old and has made 27 appearances for Henan this season, starting 16 times and contributing 3 goals + 2 assists. Again, he will miss this opportunity. They will turn 31 after the next preseason. Doesn't this kind of speed and team sense deserve to be reused by the national team?
In the face of adversity, can Lao Yang lead the national soccer team to the World Cup with his "asshole" tactics? I'm afraid it's not realistic! Wei Shihao's outstanding performance in the China-Ukraine game has proved himself successfully. Will Lao Yang be inspired by this? With Wang Dalei's steady play and the addition of players like Wei Shihao, Dai Weijun, Zhong Yihao and Huang Zichang, the temperament of the national soccer team will change! I can't guarantee if we can beat Korea, but at least we won't lose our temperament. Facing Thailand, we are confident!
