As Bahrain cut down the forest with impunity, Zhang Yuning encountered heavy challenges. However, as the battle progressed, he got better and better, frequently delivering precise passes to his teammates.
Looking back at the last two fixtures, Zhang Yuning was no slouch against European stars such as Souttar, Jackson Irvine, Izzys and Hilgers, who have shown their mettle in the Dutch Eredivisie. In comparison, Bahrain's players are slightly less strong individually. The national football team not only needs to respect the opponent's strategic layout, but also needs to develop targeted measures tactically. Tarajić not only strengthened the center back's defense of Zhang Yuning, but also asked the midfielders to stick close to the center forward of the national football team, not hesitate to commit fouls to cut off the connection between him and his teammates, and even interfered with Zhang Yuning's mentality with tricks outside the dish.
Zhang Yuning has quickly grown from a fringe player to the core of the National Football League's forward line, shouldering the heavy responsibility of leading the team to the World Cup.
In the last 12, Zhang Yuning's order of appearance ranked after Aixon, even if you can start, but only Wu Lei's support. Entering the Ivankovic era, Zhang Yuning still started from the bench. Alan, Fernando and Wu Lei were injured one after another, Zhang Yuning was able to go from behind the scenes to the front of the stage. He not only had to pave the way for his teammates, but also had to take on the dual role of center forward and front back, enduring huge confrontations and injuries. Zhang Yuning did not retreat in front of the difficulties, but proved his value with two wonderful goals, and the offense of the national football team became sharper and sharper.
Strong center, strategic link
Since the last Top 12, Zhang Yuning has rarely played a full game. In the match against Indonesia, Zhang Yu Ning was rested for a month and didn't make his debut until the final stages of regular time. Having played just 30 minutes in the last three Super League matches, it made sense for him to play the full game again this time around. At the end of the second half, Zhang Yuning still gave his all and ended up with a valuable goal.
Bahrain's kicking style didn't cause too much exertion on the national defense, and Zhang Yuning could focus on attacking. Before VAR's intervention, the defense of the national football team loosened up, and Zhu Chenjie and Jiang Shenglong kept creating chances for the opponents. At the critical moment, Zhang Yuning's several breakthroughs effectively relieved the backfield pressure and helped the national football team to get through the difficulties. Ivankovic built his team around good players, and the offense was simple and direct. Zhang Yuning became the key to victory.
Ivankovic has made a strong effort to develop young players, with the likes of Byeloram having a very different style from their predecessors. The national soccer team lacked the opportunity to show off on the stage of the 18-team tournament and had to deal with their opponents by intensifying their running and confrontation. This move is extremely physically demanding and carries a high risk of injury. Ivankovic didn't want to overexert key players as substitutions would affect the tactical setup. At the end of this game, four Guoan players appeared in front of the field. Ivankovic hoped to support Zhang Yuning's "bloodless" form, which was rewarded with a golden goal.
With the return of Zhu Chenjie, the average age of the national soccer players dropped to 27.6 years old, lower than that of Bahrain (28.7 years old), which is known as the "youth storm". This is the first time in recent years that the national soccer team has used a younger team than its opponents. Wang Haijian helped Zhang Yuning to a thrilling finish, a moment that will surely be remembered by the fans. The goal not only put an end to the unpleasant history of the black three minutes, but also marked the initial success of the new and old generation of the national football team, and also proved that Ivanovic's "chimerical" team building idea is feasible.
The national team has a short training period, limited selection, a lack of understanding between players and a tactical quality that is difficult to match at club level. If we can build a team with giant players from the national league, we can often get twice the result with half the effort. Brazil during Ferreira's time (1958), Italy during Sacchi's time and Spain who created the Tiki-Taka myth that year are successful cases. In the last Top 12, both coaches centered their offense on Wu Lei, who became the top scorer of the tournament. The only victory of the national football team came from the "port connection" between Stanley Wang and Wu Lei. Now that Zhang Yuning's central position has been secured, the opportunity to make history has arrived.
