During the international football break in September, the Chinese men's soccer team prepares for the World Cup and the Asian Cup, while Asian Cup rivals Qatar host Africa's fish-belly side Kenya. Although Qatar is far ahead of Kenya in the world rankings, there were surprises in this match.
Kenya took the lead in the 20th minute of the first half after the start of the game, while Qatar equalised in the 34th minute. However, just near the end of the game, Kenya scored again in the 91st minute to beat Qatar 2-1. The defeat means Qatar has been in a slump in recent matches, losing back-to-back to teams ranked below them.
Qatar's defeat has brought opportunities for the Chinese men's team. In next year's Asian Cup, China is expected to compete with Qatar for the top spot in the group to secure a better knockout spot. At the same time, Qatar's current coach Queiroz has also not had a satisfactory record, which undoubtedly brings more hope to the Chinese men's team.
Football is full of variables, and even strong teams can make mistakes at crucial moments. Qatar's defeat is a reminder that no team can afford to take it lightly. For the Chinese men's football team, this is a rare opportunity, and I hope they can seize this opportunity to win glory for the country.
The reasons for Qatar's defeat can be summed up as follows:
In the 20th minute of the first half, Kenyan player Muguna assisted Okumu to score a goal to give Kenya a 1-0 lead. Although Qatar won a penalty in the 34th minute and was equalised by captain Hassan Haidos, another mistake in Qatar's backline in the 91st minute of the second half led Kenya to a 2-1 victory.
Since suffering three consecutive group stage defeats at the World Cup on its doorstep, the Qatari men's team has begun to lose its way. They have lost back-to-back to teams such as Iraq, Bahrain, Haiti, Panama and Kenya, all of which have lower world rankings than Qatar.
Qatar's junior national team is at the bottom of the group at all ages in the Asian Cup, which may reflect problems with the overall development of Qatari football.
Qatar's current coach Queiroz has a less than ideal record and falls short of the level of the Asian champions. This may also have affected the morale and combat effectiveness of the team.
To sum up, Qatar's defeat was due to a number of reasons, including mistakes in the game, a recent slump in form, poor performance of the youth team, and a poor record of the manager.
The phrase "the game of football is full of variables, and even strong teams can make mistakes at key moments" reflects the uncertainty and unpredictability of the game of football. We can understand this sentence from the following aspects:
Football is a team sport, and there are many uncontrollable factors in the game, such as weather, field conditions, referee decisions, the state of players, etc. These factors can affect the outcome of the game, making the outcome of the game full of variables.
Although a team may have stronger strength on paper, in actual matches, strong teams can also lose to relatively weaker teams due to a variety of factors such as strategy, mentality, luck, etc.
The pressure on the players is greater at key moments of the game and can lead them to make mistakes they wouldn't normally make. For example, when taking a penalty, even world-class players can miss it due to pressure.
It is precisely because football is full of uncertainty, every game can have unexpected results, which is one of the reasons why football is so attractive.
In conclusion, this sentence tells us that the outcome of a football match does not depend entirely on the strength of the team, but is also influenced by many other factors, which also makes the football game full of suspense and appeal.