Compared to Wang Shanshan, the captain who finally won the Asian Cup MVP, Xiao Yuyi, who scored a killer goal in the 93rd minute of the final, is not the most eye-catching, but the super substitute who made 5 goals (2 goals and 3 assists) can still be regarded as the biggest discovery of this tournament - from the Women's Super League to the National Games, to today's Asian king, she once again showed people the "champion aura".
Since scoring his debut goal for the national team at the age of 21, Xiao Yuyi's national career can be described as smooth. Today, scoring a deadly goal at a crucial moment in the final of the Asian Cup is the pinnacle of his career. Since entering the Shanghai Women's Football Team in 2015, Xiao Yuyi has always had a stable and amazing performance, during that period she won the 2015 FA Cup, the 2015 Women's Super League, the 2016 FA Cup, the 2016 Women's Super League Runner-up, the 2017 Championship... As an offensive blade on the flanks, her potential is there for all to see.
In 2017, the 21-year-old Xiao Yuyi can be described as a fruitful harvest. In addition to that year's championship, she made her debut for the national team in the China International Women's Football Invitational Tournament against Croatia in April, and in the Yongchuan Four Nations Tournament against Mexico in October of the same year, she received an assist from Wang Shuang in the 30th minute to equalize the team, which was also her debut goal in the national team. At the same time, in the women's football final of the National Games, Xiao Yuyi scored a goal to help the Shanghai women's football team succeed. At that time, she was unanimously favored by her mentor Shui Qingxia and the current national team coach Bruno. Later, at the Jakarta Asian Games and the Jordan Asian Cup, Xiao Yuyi became a regular visitor to the national team, and the speed, breakthrough and cross of the wing were her "housekeeping skills".
However, Xiao Yuyi's career has also suffered a low. In 2019, she left the Shanghai women's football team for the Wuhan women's football team. The change of environment takes a certain amount of time to adapt, and in the first year of Wuhan, Xiao Yuyi's performance was not outstanding. At the beginning of 2020, affected by the epidemic, Xiao Yuyi could only train on her own balcony and corridor. During the team's preparation period, even in the warm-up matches, she rarely had the opportunity to appear. In the face of unprecedented fierce competition for positions, Xiao Yuyi, who has never accepted defeat, can only keep practicing in order to gain the recognition of the coaching staff.
The unsung efforts of that period not only strengthened her technical and tactical ability, tempered her will quality, but also won the opportunity for herself - in the process of Wuhan winning the Women's Super League, Xiao Yuyi was indispensable. In 2021, she finally returned to the Shanghai women's football team after a two-year absence, and "Water Mother" sent a simple and kind "Come back!" when she checked in. ”。 His own hard strength, coupled with the tacit understanding formed by the cooperation between the generals and coaches for many years, is the advantage of Xiao Yuyi's perennial foothold in the national team. At the Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese women's football team experienced a painful defeat, and in the confrontation with Brazil and the Netherlands, Xiao Yuyi felt that "learning and feeling the gap" was the most important thing: "The biggest gap is the rhythm and control ability." Brazil has a lot of veterans, a lot of experience in the game, and the ability to read the game is very strong.
The Netherlands is also very fast-paced in attack and defense, and the tactical literacy is also very high. Back at the National Games in China, her playing time gradually increased. In the match against Jiangsu for United, she scored a killer goal; in the final against Shanghai, she scored the only goal of the game. Although the women's football team lost its hand at the Olympic Games and gave birth to the team Yi Shuai, Xiao Yuyi was still one of the nine Olympic members and got the opportunity to compete in the Asian Cup.
Under Shui Qingxia, Xiao Yuyi has always been used as a "secret weapon". In the first game of the group stage, she did not play, the second game against Iran, the Chinese women's football team won a 7:0 victory, Xiao Yuyi not only started the game, but also contributed 1 goal and 2 assists; at the end of the group stage and the semi-final with Japan, Xiao Yuyi still sat back on the bench. But in the match against Japan, it was her assist that helped Wu Chengshu score the equalizer goal. In addition to sparing no effort on the offensive end, she also contributed 6 steals, including 3 frontcourt steals, which shows that Shui Qingxia's appreciation and use of Xiao Yuyi is by no means limited to the contribution to the offensive end, and the aggressiveness of the midfield is a hard indicator of player selection in the master move.
In the showdown with the South Korean team, Xiao Yuyi, who came off the bench again, completed two shots and shot all on target, while also having an 80% pass success rate. In the opposing half, her pass success rate reached 83.3%, and she had three interceptions. It should be said that being able to score the deadly goal is the best reward for his unremitting efforts. The Chinese women's football team, which has already qualified for the World Cup, has actually begun to prepare for the future, and Xiao Yuyi will also take a bigger stage.