Adelaide, Australia, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Zhu Yu, a goalkeeper of the Chinese women's soccer team who is training with the team in Australia, said in an exclusive interview with a Xinhua reporter recently that he hopes to help the national team achieve good results in the World Cup that opens this month.
Zhu Yu was interviewed
The 2023 Women's World Cup will be held in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.
According to the preparation plan, the Chinese team will play an internal teaching match with Brazil on the Gold Coast on the 13th, and return to Adelaide, where the base camp is located, after the game. On the afternoon of the 11th, during the training in Adelaide, Zhu Yu accepted an exclusive interview with reporters. The following is a partial transcript of the interview.
Reporter: After arriving in Australia on the 8th, how did you rest in the past few days? Are you still comfortable from summer to winter?
Zhu Yu: It's okay, I think the Australian climate is quite adaptable except for a little cooler.
Reporter: After a few days of training, how has your condition adjusted?
Zhu Yu: There is still some fatigue, maybe before the competition, there is some tension in all aspects, plus some fatigue, but they will slowly adapt.
Zhu Yu (right) during training on July 10. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Xie Sida)
Reporter: What is the significance of participating in the World Cup for the first time?
Zhu Yu: In terms of football, the World Cup means a dream of my own. To come to the World Cup now is like a dream come true.
Reporter: What was your mood when you learned that you were shortlisted?
Zhu Yu: It was the day the list was announced (I learned it), because we only knew that we had entered the World Cup from the beginning of the training camp to the final announcement of the list, so everything was like a dream, very happy.
Reporter: Last year's Asian Cup was a great performance and was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament. What are your goals for this World Cup?
Zhu Yu: I thought that we could implement the tactical concept of Shui Dao (head coach Shui Qingxia) and play this World Cup well without disappointing the fans.
On February 6, 2022, the Chinese team celebrated at the 2022 Women's Asian Cup award ceremony. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Javed Dahl)
Reporter: In the central defender position in front of you, the "post-00s" young players gradually provoked the beam. How is the rapport between you?
Zhu Yu: For the defenders I work with now, I have a lot of trust in them. I think we can work together to keep the back line of the team safe and not concede the ball.
Reporter: European teams have obvious physical advantages. What are the expectations and preparations for the difficulties in the World Cup?
Zhu Yu: Since we started preparing for the World Cup, we have already said that the physical aspect is not as good as the European team, so all the strength training before the World Cup is to strengthen the physical training. In fact, you can see that we are much stronger than before, but when you go to play European teams, there are still some gaps, but I will try to help the team and avoid physical confrontation.
On July 8, Chinese women's football goalkeepers Xu Huan (first from left), Zhu Yu (second from left) and Pan Hongyan (first from right) in training. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Xie Sida)
Reporter: There are two warm-up matches before the World Cup, what effect do you hope to achieve?
Zhu Yu: It's the feeling of slowly entering the World Cup, so that you can adapt to the rhythm of the World Cup faster.
Reporter: I heard that your favorite club is Manchester City. Which goalkeeper do you admire the most?
Zhu Yu: I liked De Gea at first, and then I liked Ederson at Manchester City. I think their physical fitness and reflexes are important things that I need to learn.