Madrid, 16 Apr (Xinhua) -- "We still have a big gap compared with European teams. During the training match of the Chinese women's football team in Ibiza, Spain, the head coach of the women's football team, Shui Qingxia, was interviewed by Xinhua News Agency, and she said this sentence the most.
The Chinese women's football team has only achieved 1 draw and 1 defeat in the two European training matches this time, and has not won in the official warm-up matches this year. Despite the unsatisfactory record, Shui believes that through matches against European powerhouses, the team "gets the most important thing".
Gather training troops to face up to the gap
"Today's European women's football represents a high level of women's football as a whole." In the interview, Shui Qingxia did not hide that the team often fell behind in the face of opponents from Europe. She said: "Against them, the rhythm is different from the domestic competition and even the Asian Cup. From the speed of offensive and defensive transitions to the degree of confrontation, European teams as a whole are much higher than in Asia. ”
On April 11, Shui Qingxia before the warm-up match between China and Spain. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Dingbo
Relying on the development of local leagues, European women's football has improved rapidly in recent years and gradually distanced itself from Asian teams. The gap in strength is also reflected in the score. On April 6, the Chinese women's team, which won the Asian Cup last year, drew 0-0 with Switzerland, which is only second-tier in Europe; On the 11th, they lost 3-0 against the world's seventh-ranked Spanish women's team, and even a number of important players in the latter team were not called up to the national team due to disagreements with the manager, and their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced.
The two warm-up games exposed a lot of problems. Shui Qingxia said that the Chinese team is at a disadvantage in terms of confrontation, the accuracy of passing and the efficiency of counterattacks also need to be improved, and the injuries of main players such as Wang Shanshan and Zhu Yu have a great impact on the team's formation. On the other hand, the lack of games and poor training of the two star players Wang Shuang and Tang Jiali also caused Shui Qingxia a headache: "After Wang Shuang returned to the United States, her physical strength gradually recovered, and Tang Jiali also improved compared to before after winter training, but they still need to continue to work hard." The pace of attack and defense switching and the level of confrontation in the World Cup are different, and as the core of the team, they may need to give more. ”
Although the warm-up results were not ideal, Shui Qingxia believes that the team as a whole is "a little better than in February" and the pace is much better. She further affirmed that these games are "very exercise-worthy": "Regardless of the outcome, through them, coaches can know what is wrong in the team. In addition, we also have to give the players an adaptation process. The team is relatively young now, with some players having only played two or three international matches and will take time to get used to. ”
Chinese female footballer Wang Shuang (front right) during training before a warm-up match on April 10. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Dingbo
From the training camp in February to this European training, Shui Qingxia not only selected many new faces for the team, but also constantly experimented with new lineups in the game to tap the potential of new talents. She admits that she wants to "give the young players a chance": "I think the most important thing is for the young players to get exercised. They need to grow, and it's normal to make some mistakes along the way. Young people definitely have to pay tuition, but in the future they may become a continuation of the team. ”
Encourage staying in the ocean and expect more team members to "go out"
At present, there are many players in the Chinese women's football team who play in overseas leagues, and their addition has brought a lot of fresh air to the national team. In fact, Shui Qingxia has been encouraging players to go abroad since she took charge of the national team. She said: "I hope that more players will go out and experience and adapt to the rhythm of European training and competitions, and see what the football atmosphere is like outside. ”
Zhang Linyan, who plays for the Swiss grasshopper team, is the best among the players in the ocean. The 22-year-old started against Switzerland and Spain, becoming one of the brightest performers in the team. Petite, she is completely undefeated in terms of speed, technique and confrontation with opponents, and has created threats in front of the opponent's goal several times. Shui Qingxia used the words "people are small and bold" to evaluate Zhang Linyan: "In terms of the degree of confrontation and understanding of football, I think she has done a really good job. I'm happy that she can make a big difference, both offensively and defensively. ”
On April 11, Chinese player Zhang Linyan attacked with the ball during a match against Spain. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Dingbo
But not everyone's journey to the ocean has been smooth sailing. Tang Jiali, who signed with Madrid CFF last summer, had to return home from a hasty trip to Spain due to visa problems, and was unable to receive systematic training for several months. Shui Qingxia admits that players may indeed encounter various difficulties in the process of staying in the ocean, or the state of the state may fluctuate due to adaptation problems. But she always believes that staying in the ocean allows players to be trained and improved: "Compared with Europeans, there will definitely be some physical gaps, but through training matches in Europe, you can understand your strengths and weaknesses, and know how to use and play the fast and flexible characteristics of Asians; You can find the gap, and you can see the good things in yourself. ”
China's Tang Jiali (right) fights with Spain's Ivana Andrés during a match on April 11. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Dingbo
On the other hand, how to maintain a balance between club and national teams is also a big problem. Shui Qingxia said: "The training time of the Chinese team is relatively long, unlike Europe, the players are scattered in the league, usually play high-level games, and the training time is relatively short. She said that in order not to affect the players, it is necessary to coordinate and communicate with the club in advance.
Looking ahead to the World Cup: "Knowing the difficulties without complaining"
After the match against the Spanish women's team, the Chinese women's team has left for China, and the players will return to their respective clubs to play in the league, and will regroup in mid-May to prepare for a new round of preparations for the World Cup.
In the upcoming World Cup, China will be in a group of England, Denmark and Haiti. The first two teams are seen as China's biggest competitors on the route. In fact, the Chinese women's football team has frequently played against opponents from Europe recently, to some extent to warm up for the battle with Denmark and England.
On April 11, the Chinese players appeared before the warm-up match against Spain. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Dingbo
Looking forward to the situation in the group, Shui Qingxia believes that there are "no weak teams" in Europe: "England are European champions. Denmark are also very good, they beat Sweden in previous games and we lost to Sweden. And a lot of Danish players are now playing in the big five leagues, and they are still higher than us overall. As for the Haitian team, which is ranked low in the world, in Shui Qingxia's view, it is also "not to be underestimated". "I think this group is actually very difficult." She said.
On April 10, Shui Qingxia passed the ball to the players during training. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Dingbo
Although the prospects for qualifying are uncertain, Shui Qingxia said the team will be fully prepared: "Our goal is, of course, to go further. But the game still has to be played one by one. Whatever the outcome, the team needs to be physically and tactically prepared. When encountering difficulties, we must think about how to really integrate the existing personnel, at least let people see that the Chinese women's football team is a real whole. She said that for the Chinese women's football team, the most important thing is to "know the difficulties and not complain."