Hangzhou, 28 September (Xinhua) -- Question: Morale is high! The men's team, which returned to the quarterfinals of the Asian Games after 17 years, wants to go further
Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Haoming, Xiao Shiyao, and Yue Ranran
17 years of waiting!
Since the 2006 Doha Asian Games, the Chinese men's football team has not been able to enter the quarterfinals in the next three Asian Games, and on the evening of the 27th, relying on Tao Qianglong's lightning goal of less than 3 minutes, the Chinese men's Asian Games team defeated Qatar 1:0 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
On September 27, Chinese players celebrate their goal during the game. On the same day, in the quarterfinals of men's football at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the Chinese team defeated Qatar 1-0. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jia Haocheng
In the quarterfinals on the evening of October 1, China will welcome the favorite South Korea, and the players' morale is high, looking forward to the "tough" opponent and go further.
Fighting spirit: The morale of the whole team is high
After the match against Qatar, the players mentioned the next opponent, South Korea, in an interview, and did not show weakness at all, but all gathered enough energy to compete with their opponents.
"I feel very excited and proud [to reach the quarter-finals] and very much looking forward to the next match against South Korea and hopefully to go further." Captain Tan Long said.
On September 21, China's Tan Long (front) celebrates a goal during a match. On the same day, in the Hangzhou Asian Games men's football group stage A match, the Chinese team defeated the Myanmar team 4-0. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yibo
Jiang Shenglong, who received a red card in the game, did not choose to "keep silent", but patiently walked through the mixed mining area and was interviewed by reporters over and over again, saying that the red card was "too impulsive" and "really undeserved", and he believed that the team could continue to move forward in the next game against the South Korean team.
"Our goal is the Final Four and now 16 to 8 is to be expected. Today we gave 200% effort, the next game we gave 1000%, I hope everyone adjusts their mentality, now the whole team is united. Jiang Shenglong said.
Against Qatar, the Chinese team showed a tenacious style on the field. Fang Hao, who assisted Tao Qianglong's goal, had ice packs wrapped around his hands with plastic film after the game, and he was injured in a scramble with his opponent, but immediately got up to continue playing. "The hand is fine, it's a hard injury." Fang Hao said a word about his injuries.
Goalkeeper Han Jiaqi said: "Playing the Korean team, each of us does not need to mobilize, just go all out to play. ”
Combat strength: The opponent is strong, we must be tougher
As the favorite team to win the Asian Games, South Korea scored 16 goals and did not concede a goal in all three games in the group stage, and defeated Kyrgyzstan 5:1 in the quarterfinal. Among the men's teams participating in the Asian Games, the South Korean team is unique.
Offensively, South Korea has scored 21 goals in four games, more than double the second-placed Chinese team with 10 goals. On the top scorer list, the top three are all South Korean players, namely Jung Youying who scored 5 goals, Baek Seung-ho and Cao Yongxu, who both scored 3 goals. The South Korean team is also very rich in firepower, with as many as 10 players scoring goals, while the Chinese team has only 6 players with a scoring record.
It is worth noting that Li Gangren, the most "big name" in the current South Korean team and just joined "Greater Paris" this summer, played 35 minutes in the third game of the group stage against Bahrain, and played 60 minutes against Kyrgyzstan in the eighth final, gradually adapting to the rhythm of the whole team, facing the eight finals of the Chinese team, Li Gangren is likely to play at full strength, which will be a very big threat to the Chinese team's backline.
In the last moments of the match against Qatar, Jiang Shenglong "came out" for his teammates and caused himself to be sent off with a red card in the last moment, and before that, Gao Tianyi also received a yellow card, and has accumulated two yellow cards in the Asian Games, and the two generals will not qualify for the next match against South Korea, which will be a greater test for the Chinese team's formation.
The referee shows a red card to China's Jiang Shenglong (left) during a match on September 27. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jia Haocheng
The South Korean team is very strong, and the Chinese team has hidden worries, but what is exciting is that against Qatar, facing this team with excellent physical conditions, whether it is defense, midfield or attack, the Chinese team dares to be "tough" with the opponent and does not fall behind in the confrontation.
In the face of the South Korean team, the Chinese team should bravely continue to maintain this hardness in order to have a chance to take the lead.
Battlefield: The absolute home of the Chinese team
In the match against Qatar, more than 38,000 spectators came to the Yellow Dragon Stadium, becoming the "best 12th man" of the Chinese team. The men's team's four matches at the Yellow Dragon Stadium each had more than 35,000 spectators.
In fact, the home atmosphere created by the fans is crucial to the team's performance. After the match against Qatar, Chinese coach Djurjevic said: "Without the support of the fans, we may lose 70% of our fighting power. ”
On the evening of October 1, the quarterfinals between China and South Korea were held on the evening of October 1, and fans in the festive season could open their voices to cheer for the Chinese team, and many fans also planned to come to Hangzhou from other places to cheer for the Chinese team. It is foreseeable that the attendance of this game will definitely explode and become the absolute home of the Chinese team.
In this Asian Games football event, the figure of the "Dragon Team" fan club will appear in the stands of every Chinese team match, they are dressed in uniform red cheering shirts, and rhythmic cheers often lead the fans.
On September 21, Chinese fans cheered on the team before the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Yu
"Play South Korea, we will fight with the team!" Kan Mangen, president of the Dragon Team Fan Association, said that the fan club has long been planning and hopes to maximize the role of fans in the match against the Korean team, "We hope that more people can join us and make the power of cheering more concentrated and effective."
In addition, the Chinese team has played four games at the Yellow Dragon Stadium and is very familiar with the venue, which may also be an advantage.
From several aspects of analysis, this big game, the Chinese team has a strong morale, and occupies the home field advantage, facing the strong South Korean team, let go of the baggage, maintain hardness, and have the opportunity to go further.
As Fang Hao said: "Obviously, the Korean team is better than us, but we will play ourselves, we will treat this game as a big test in our lives, and we have nothing to lose." (Contributors: Chen Di, Lu Xianting)