In the recently concluded AFC Champions League group stage, China's Chinese Super League (CSL) powerhouse Zhejiang suffered a surprise 1-4 defeat away to Thai soccer giants Buriram United. However, looking back at the Super League a month ago, Shanghai Harbour only lost 2-3 at home to Thai side Pathum United. So it seems that Chinese Super League teams have suffered successive "Waterloos" in Thailand. This series of results makes domestic fans feel helpless, but makes Thai fans happy.
In the comment section of the Thai media "sanook", many Thai fans have cheered for the victory of Buriram United, and there is no lack of Chinese men's soccer banter. Some Thai fans jokingly said: "The Chinese men's soccer team in the past seems to be superior, facing Japan and South Korea seem to be full of confidence, but in fact, there is not much difference with Thailand and Vietnam, and even lost more miserably. Without the support of foreign aid, the Chinese team is simply difficult to get a foothold."
Another fan said, "This is a heartening victory and a resounding slap in the face to those who belittle Thai soccer and feel ashamed of losing to a Thai team. It seems that Chinese teams simply cannot gain a foothold in Asia without the addition of world-class foreign aid."
One fan even said bluntly, "The Chinese men's soccer team has always regarded itself as superior to Southeast Asian teams. I didn't realize that they are just a worm."
China's national soccer team is about to meet Thailand in the group stage of the preliminary round. Given the strength of the opponents in the same group, the national soccer team will have to beat Thailand if they want to compete for one of the two places in the group. However, the fact that two Chinese Super League teams have already lost to Thailand before the preliminaries have even begun casts a shadow over the national soccer team. As a matter of fact, it is an indisputable fact that the advantage of Chinese soccer is gradually diminishing. In the face of the upcoming Thailand test, how will the national football team respond?
