The Chinese team, which is not willing to shrink the defense, was "rubbed" by the Japanese team in its own half for most of the game, which is the real gap between Chinese and Japanese football at present. In the 7th round of the Asian Round of 12 of the Qatar World Preliminary Tournament held on the evening of January 27, the visiting Chinese team lost 0-2 to the feet of the Japanese team, thus failing to make a start in the first match of 2022, while the debut of new coach Li Xiaopeng coaching the Chinese team ended in failure.
After experiencing such a dialogue of strength and weakness without suspense, the chances of the loser Chinese team theoretically qualifying are even more minimal. Like the fans sitting at the Saitama 2002 World Cup stadium, the vast number of Chinese fans who are standing in front of the TV may have long been accustomed to the process and results of the game, and they know very well that a change of coach or a short period of improvement measures cannot bring the Chinese team and Chinese football out of the predicament.
For the new coach Li Xiaopeng and his team, the more pragmatic idea may not be to futile for unrealistic illusions of qualifying, but to avoid the team falling into a deeper trough and avoid the team from blocking itself and fans across the country during the next Lunar New Year season away to Vietnam.
On the evening of the 27th, the Chinese team visited the Saitama 2002 World Cup Stadium in Japan to challenge the 7th round of the Round of 12 against Japan. Prior to this, the Chinese team temporarily ranked 5th in Group B of the Round of 12 with 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses, which was 6 points away from the Australian team, which was temporarily ranked 3rd (before this round). If the Chinese team wins, then it still retains the opportunity to qualify, and if it loses, and the Australian team wins or draws, then the Probability of the Chinese team even retaining the theoretical possibility of qualifying will be even more minimal.
Although in early December last year, the Chinese team underwent a coach change. Local coach Li Xiaopeng replaced Li Tie as the new manager of the national football team, but whether it is the football community, the media or the fans, they are not optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese team "turning the crisis into safety" in the competition for the top 12.
In the game on the evening of the 27th, Li Xiaopeng arranged a relatively "novel" lineup combination, but the players who appeared on various lines, except for left-back Zheng Zheng, the remaining 10 were the old departments of Li Tie's coaching period, and even the main players in the first 6 rounds of the round of 12. In the face of the strong technical flow of the Japanese team, the technical and tactical adjustment of the Chinese team has achieved little effect, or in other words, the adjustment cannot narrow the huge gap in the technical ability of the Chinese and Japanese teams.
Wang Shenchao's handball delivery in the penalty area in the opening 13 minutes seemed to be due to bad luck, but this panicked foul was the epitome of the decline of the Chinese team. Like the scene when the two teams met for the first time in the round of 12, it was Yuya Daisuke who scored first for Japan, and it was Junya Ito who created the opportunity to score. For the technical characteristics of these two people, the Chinese coaches and players are actually very familiar with it, but even so, they still can't curb the display of their abilities. As for the goal of the Japanese team scored by Junya Ito in the 61st minute, it was ostensibly due to the lack of concentration of the Chinese defensive players, but after being pressed by the opponent to "rub" in their own half-court for 1 hour, the Chinese defenders were extremely tired and on the verge of collapse, both physically and mentally. This is basically consistent with the situation when Wang Shenchao was continuously broken by his opponents in the first round of meetings between the two sides, and finally was assisted by Ito Jun.
It is understood that although the Chinese team has not given up its efforts to qualify, it has long been mentally prepared for the passive and loss of the Japanese team away. An insider who participated in the first 6 rounds of the round of 12 with the team once commented: "If we have a little illusion about taking points in Australia and Saudi Arabia, then against Japan, we have no reason to have illusions." ”
On this night of defeat, whether it is Li Xiaopeng, who ushered in the debut of the national football team, the leader of the Chinese Football Association in the stands, or nearly 300 chinese fans on the spot, the mood remained generally calm for the crisp defeat that occurred in front of them. Such a result does not go beyond the normal laws of the football world or the normal understanding of football games by human beings.
The data shows that the possession ratio of the Chinese and Japanese teams is 37% and 63% respectively. The ratio of the number of shots on goal between the two teams is 2 to 16, and the number of corners is 1 to 11, such a huge technical gap is not something that Li Xiaopeng can narrow with his good ability to treat people and objects and the novelty of using troops.
The score of 0-2 proved at least from the results that the Chinese team did not surrender. On this night, the veteran Arthur Junmin tried to speed up but was cut off by the ball in stark contrast to the few breakthroughs and shots of young players such as Wei Shihao and Dai Weijun. After the best players in the national football team have aged in old age, it is impossible to add the courage to create miracles to the Chinese team. In this game, the Chinese team and its fans could not find the slightest reason to masturbate.
From the beginning of the second half of the game, Li Xiaopeng was replaced by Alain, Wei Shihao, Dai Weijun, Liu Yang and Deng Hanwen. These adjustments are not enough to change the tide of the battle, but they send a signal that the Chinese team is looking to the future.
In this round, the same group of Australian teams blew up Vietnam with 4 goals, thus extending the advantage over China to 9 points. If the Chinese team wants to get a ticket to the play-offs, it must not only win all the last 3 matches, but also ensure that the Australian team loses in the next 3 rounds, and everyone knows that this is an impossible task. "Dying" is extremely painful for the Chinese team.
More importantly, the Chinese team will play Vietnam away on February 1, the first day of the first lunar month. The Australian team only needs 1 point in the next round to "pronounce" the Chinese team out. For the Chinese team, whether it is out or not, it should not add to the fans and Chinese people during the Lunar New Year festival. According to the plan, the Chinese team will depart for Hanoi, Vietnam, on January 28. How to avoid the team falling into a lower valley in history, Li Xiaopeng and his disciples need to weigh it carefully.
Text/Beiqing Sports Xiao Zhao