Facing the Saudi team that qualified early, the Chinese men's football team was at an absolute disadvantage in the field, and it got its first chance to shoot in the 82nd minute of the game and successfully equalized the score, which was somewhat lucky.
This time facing oman, does Li Xiaopeng's team dare to win a goal? To do that, first solve the problem of how to get the shot and who can score.
01. Who can be the starting point of the counterattack? Can Liu Binbin save himself?
Li Xiaopeng's tactical thinking is well understood, first of all, a good center forward is needed, and Zhang Yuning has proved that he can do a lot of work. The key question is whether the winger player can play a role in taking the ball and advancing when switching between attack and defense.
In the last game, Liu Binbin only won 2 of the 10 one-on-one confrontations, and his poor performance greatly affected the team's attack launch in the first half.
The problem is that Li Xiaopeng does not have much other choice, except for the veteran Tan Long, it seems that he can only continue to trust Liu Binbin to complete his self-help.
Liu Binbin's main problem is that when facing West Asian players, he still has an advantage in the speed of the first step as soon as possible, but the frequency of foot technology and continuous action is not dominant, and it is difficult to get enough space to process the ball when preparing to pass, which will also amplify his passing disadvantage.
So facing saudi arabia in the first half, the number of shots on goal was 0-8, and the national football team did not get the first shot of the whole game until the 82nd minute of the second half because of an unexpected penalty?
Li Xiaopeng's tactics may still have some room for defense, but it is too difficult to play offense.
02. Wu Xi's comeback + Kim Kyung-do's absence due to injury: Who will attack the backhand?
With Li Xiaopeng's tactical characteristics, the team is mostly based on defense in the first half, and strives to find the opportunity to rush a wave with the backhand. Midfielder Dai Weijun has a good ability to carry the ball, and he will be the key figure for the team to find rhythm and morale in the backhand.
One of Li Xiaopeng's mistakes in the last game was to let Yu Dabao, who has stopped playing as a striker for many years, play with Dai Weijun, Yu Dabao is not Wu Lei, he does not have the ability to plug in front of the ball (the correct use is to grab the point in the penalty area to compete for the header).
If the national football team has the ability to suppress Oman, then Yu Dabao and Zhang Yuning are the best way to compete for the high point together, and the question is how the national football team wins the possession.
After replacing multiple midfielders in the last game, the overall formation of the national football team was gradually pressed forward. Jin Jingdao and Dai Weijun have strong running ability, and at the same time have certain foot skills, which brings advantages in this regard.
Winning the penalty shootout was also Kim Kyung-do's forward insertion that put pressure on the opponent.
Kim Kyung-do was absent due to injury in this game, but Wu Xi returned from a yellow card suspension and played very well against Saudi Arabia in the first round. His physique is clearly superior against West Asian players and he also has a certain ability to score.
This long-range shot to saudi arabia is an example, Wu Xi's forward insertion, after all, is still an advantage of the national football team.
03. The final battle of the Round of 12: Cherish this "beautiful" memory
Many people will have a lot of dissatisfaction with the national football team's trip to the round of 12 this time, the team has only won 1 goal, and it has been determined that it is at least the second-to-last place, and even in extreme cases, there is a possibility of being overtaken by the Vietnamese team and eventually finishing at the bottom of the group.
But do we really only have complaints about the round of 12? It should be known that from 2001 to 2017, the national football team was far away from the top stage in Asia for a long time, and only the last 2 World Preliminary Tournaments could reach the top 12 consecutive matches.
Even in the two Asian Cups in 2007 and 2011, the Chinese men's football team unfortunately broke the group stage, and only successfully returned to the top 8 in 2015 and 2019.
It can be seen that the real trough of Chinese football may be losing the World Preliminary Round of 40, or the Group Stage of the Asian Cup, if this is really the case, it is not easy to attract the "attention" of the majority of fans.
The 2026 World Cup will expand, but this is not necessarily an opportunity for the Chinese men's football team to enter the main game, and may even bring more disappointment.
After 4 years, we will lament that if we can have the strength of this national football team in 2022, can we see the national football team on the stage of North America? This would be somewhat ironic.
Conclusion:
It is difficult to ask the national football team to win the last game of the round of 12, but as long as the players are willing to fight, they may be able to win the understanding of more fans.
I hope that Yu Dabao will not take another walk, and I hope that the last game will not leave regrets, and also leave some memories worth remembering to the fans.