When many people mention football, they think of the poor record of the Chinese men's football team and the negative news full of screens.
In fact, the Chinese football used to be not so bad, and even has always been the top existence in Asia, you must know that before the 90s, there were only 2 places in Asia, and the national football team at that time could reach the round of 6 every time, and every time it was a brush with the qualifying place.
Then in the 02 Japan and South Korea World Cup, China entered the World Cup for the first time, which is enough to prove that the national football team at that time actually had quite strong strength in Asia.
At that time, the national football team, it can be said that in addition to South Korea, who played with was five or five, playing Vietnam and Thailand was like cutting melons and chopping vegetables, not as hard as it is now, and it also achieved good results in the Asian Cup and Asian Games.
However, after the 02 World Cup, I thought that our national football team would take advantage of the east wind of entering the World Cup to stride forward, but I did not expect that the results of the national football team plummeted.
With 4.5 places in Asia, it is impossible to even reach the final 8 and 10 tournaments for two consecutive editions.
Although it has been able to reach the final round of 12 in the following editions, it has basically fallen short.
Last year's World Qualifiers, under the condition of naturalization, were even repeatedly defeated by weak teams such as Vietnam and Oman.
Why is the national football team getting worse?
In addition to the small population base of football and the rigidity of the system, in fact, the most important point is that the football association has changed its policies over the years.
Brazil won the championship in 02, and the Football Association called for learning Brazilian football; Italy won the championship in 06 and hurriedly cooperated with Italy; 10 years after Spain won the championship, he immediately sent people to Spain to learn from the experience; Germany won the championship in 14 years and turned to Germany.
And our team, under the policy of changing the order and overnight, not only did not improve, but lost its original tactical play and became a four-like team.
Learning from Brazil didn't learn their inspirational skills, learning Italy didn't learn their iron-blooded defense, learning Spain couldn't even do basic passing and catching skills, and learning Germany made us physically competitive in Asia.
In the 90s, there were two places in Asia, and the national football team could enter the top 6; Since 2002, there are 4.5 places in Asia, and the national football team has barely reached the round of 12; with 8.5 places in the next Asian competition, the national football team may not even be able to enter the round of 18.
The reason is that our national football team needs technology without technology, confrontation without confrontation, and tactics without tactics.
If we stick to a style of play like before 2000, maybe we still have hope.
At that time, the tactical play of the national football team was simple, that is, through high-intensity physical confrontation, high-speed forward combination + short pass and fast connection + defensive counterattack tactics of fast horse crosses on the wing.
Although this set of tactics is not so flashy on the scene, it does not deliberately pursue possession, but it is actually very suitable for national football players with physical and rough skills.
I believe that as long as our national football team adheres to this set of play, there is absolutely no problem in playing Southeast Asian teams such as Vietnam and Thailand, even Saudi Arabia and Oman in West Asia, and Australia, Iran, South Korea and Japan can also wrench their wrists while maintaining physical confrontation.
Even if we lose to Asia's top teams such as Japan and South Korea, it doesn't matter, as long as we can enter the top 8 in Asia and enter the World Cup.
Many people think that this is a reversal, and think that the national football team entering the World Cup is also a series of tragic cases.
But only the first step is to advance to the World Cup, really play on the world stage, and then the second step is to think about what style of play can go further in the World Cup.
After all, the Chinese men's football team has not been able to enter the World Cup for more than 20 years, and it has been out of touch with the mainstream of the world for too long, and there are 8.5 places in the next Asian competition, and we must seize this opportunity.
Don't stop toddlers in Handan, pursue some flashy plays, we must stick to a simple way of playing, and believe that entering the 2026 World Cup is no longer a dream.