Singapore eliminated Guam and became an opponent in the round of 36 of the national football team, and a single cross, suspected of having a "routine"
On October 12, 2023, Beijing time, the first round of the knockout round of the Asian zone of the World Preliminary Round kicked off. Although the teams that appeared in the first round were ranked 26 outside the Asian rankings and were generally weak, the match between Singapore and Guam still attracted the attention of Chinese fans. After 90 minutes of fighting, Singapore finally beat Guam 2-1 thanks to goals from defender Christopher and striker Mahler. However, since the first phase of the Asian Games is a two-legged tournament, it is still unknown which team will enter Group C, where the Chinese men's football team is in the round of 36.
Throughout the game, although it cannot be said that rookie chickens pecked at each other, it is not a high technical and tactical content. From the perspective of hard power, Singapore, which has a professional league system in China, is the dominant party, and the final victory or defeat of this game also reflects this. I remember that at the beginning, before the national football team led by Li Tie played the World Preliminary Round of 40 with Guam, a reporter photographed the training of the Guam team. I saw that in the video, the Guam player would stop the ball 2 or 3 meters at every turn. Against this backdrop, a 2-1 victory also made Singapore look a bit of a scumbag.
Throughout the first half, Singapore blasted 10 shots on goal. Although the head was fair, with six hitting the goal, Singapore scored only two goals in 45 minutes. And in the opening stages, Singapore also allowed Guam to play a number of counter-attacks and formed three shots on target. It wasn't until 25 minutes later that Singapore really took control of the pitch. In the 35th minute, Christopher broke the deadlock with a long-range shot from Singapore. Five minutes later, Singapore caused confusion in the Guam defence with a corner kick and Mahler took advantage of the volley to extend Singapore's lead.
In the second half, Singapore was still the dominant side on the field. But as in the first half, Guam was able to organize an effective offensive at certain stages. And in the attacking section, Singapore has always squandered some scoring opportunities, such as turning a one-handed ball into a wide cross when no one is defending within 2 meters. Singapore scored on 12 shots in the second half. Before the end of the game, Singapore also gave Guam a free kick at the edge of the penalty area, and watched Guam's Jason hit a direct penalty to pull a goal back. Combined with the data given by the "institution" to analyze, Singapore is suspected of having a "performance" component.
However, objectively speaking, Singapore defeated Guam 2-1 and took the lead in promotion. But even if Singapore can advance to the round of 36, in Group C where China, South Korea and Thailand are located, such a Singapore basically cannot escape the fate of "studying with the prince". After all, even our Hong Kong, China, has won double-digit victories 15-1 and 15-0 against the Guam men's team, and a 2-1 victory is really nothing.
However, it is worth mentioning that whether the Chinese men's football team plays Singapore or Guam in the round of 36, they must not relax, and must score as many goals as possible in the two-legged match. Because in Group C, the South Korean team will basically lock in a place to advance to the round of 18, and the strength level of the national football team and the Thai team are between Bozhong. If the two teams draw on points, the match will be on goal difference. Therefore, winning more against Thailand, conceding fewer goals against South Korea, and scoring more goals against Singapore or Guam are the "three-step" strategy of the national football team in the round of 36.