The national football team flew to Thailand in economy class today, which is the most important game in the next five years
On the afternoon of the 14th, the national football team that was training in Shenzhen set off for Bangkok, Thailand, to participate in the first round of the Asian round of 36 of the World Preliminary Tournament with the Thai team on the evening of the 16th local time.
The importance of this match is self-evident, and Thailand is the most direct rival for the Chinese team to finish second in the group, and the first game is a decisive battle.
To some extent, it can be said that this game will be the most important game for Chinese football in the next five years.
The national football team released the video "Accompany me to break through, yearn together". (00:59)
The route is suitable, and the national football team does not charter flights
Considering that the three away countries of the round of 36, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea are more convenient to travel back and forth between China and China, and in the context of the gradual recovery of international flights, the Chinese Football Association has decided that the three away games during the round of 36 will take the economy class of ordinary civil aviation flights.
Because "food is the original sin", the national football team will be criticized by netizens every time it charters a flight to play, but objectively speaking, whether the Chinese Football Association decides to charter a flight or take a civil aviation flight, it is arranged out of the actual situation.
As a simple example, during the World Preliminary Tournament two or three years ago, because there were very few international flights, the national football team could only take charter flights to the away games.
Going back further, during the last World Preliminaries Top 40 matches, the national football team traveled to and from Male Island in the Maldives and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (neutral venue against Syria) by ordinary civil aviation flights, and away against the Philippines because the game venue was in Bacolod, in order to avoid the consumption of transfers, the Chinese Football Association decided to charter a flight to the venue.
Therefore, whether or not you charter an away game, there is no need to raise too many additional topics.
National Football World Preliminary Tournament Squad.
According to the surging news reporter, the members of the national football team's advance work team had flown to Bangkok in advance last weekend to implement the details of the team's local preparations, such as accommodation, travel, and training.
According to the route, the flight from Shenzhen to Bangkok took almost 3 hours, and the national football team landed at 6 p.m. local time.
Upon arrival in Bangkok, you will be accommodated in a hotel just a 20-minute drive from the Jamanggara Stadium, the venue of the Sino-Thai competition. Although this hotel is officially designated by the Thai Football Association as an away team hotel, the hotel still receives other tourists as usual during the arrival of the national football team.
At the same time, considering that Chinese food is also quite popular in Thailand, the Chinese Football Association will not specially hire Chinese chefs to visit with the national football team - it can be said that the national football team does not enjoy special treatment in terms of food, accommodation, and transportation in the World Preliminaries.
The national football team lost 1-2 to Uzbekistan in the previous warm-up match.
The leaders of the Football Association do not travel with the team
The national football team went to Thailand this time, and the team leader was Tong Jie, who had just been transferred from the Asian Games team, and the leadership of the Football Association would not have a special person to accompany the team.
It is understood that the Football Association's move is also to avoid adding pressure to the team. Of course, Song Kai, the new chairman of the Football Association, still plans to go to Shenzhen to supervise the key match of the national football team against the South Korean team at home on the 21st.
Last weekend, Song Kai appeared in Shenzhen, accompanied by the relevant persons in charge of the Guangdong Provincial Sports Management Department and the Shenzhen Football Management Department, to the Shenzhen Youth Football Training Base in Guangming District, Shenzhen, to conduct research on the content of youth training.
In two consecutive domestic public appearances, Song Kai chose the keyword of youth training - a few days after the Football Congress last month, he went to Weifang to watch the second leg of the U15 Youth Championship finals and presented awards to the champion team.
Song Kai, President of the Chinese Football Association.
According to the "Beijing Youth Daily", Song Kai also made a special trip to the national football team's resident hotel to communicate with some of the veteran players, including captain Wu Xi.
During this period, Song Kai also expressed the expectations and trust of the Chinese Football Association and his attitude towards the national football team, especially the veteran players, hoping that these veteran players who have played for the country in many major competitions can play a leading role.
On the morning of the 12th, the national football team went to the side field of the Universiade Center football field for outdoor joint practice. After the training, Song Kai made a speech on the spot for less than 5 minutes.
Song Kai encouraged the players that the task of impacting the World Cup is important, and the Chinese Football Association and himself will always trust and support the team, hoping that the players can put down their burdens, unite as one, and play the true spirit of Chinese football.
Song Kai also asked the players to pay attention to their health and look forward to the team's victory in the first game of the World Preliminaries.
National football goalkeeper Wang Dalei (left) signs autographs for fans.
The goal of the Chinese and Thai managers is to win
According to the format of the round of 36 of the World Preliminaries, the second-tier team played the third-pot team away in the first round, so that the first round of matches can be called the final for half of the teams.
The same is true for China and Thailand, with Thai coach Porkin saying in a previous interview, "I agree with most people that Thailand and China will compete for the second place in this group." I think this is probably the most important game in the history of the Thai team in the last 5-10 years. ”
As for his goal, he was blunt, saying, "Of course, I hope we can win the first game. ”
National football coach Jankovic.
National football coach Jankovic also conveyed confidence before the game, "We are ready, the team has been looking forward to this day. We will definitely do our best to return to Shenzhen from Thailand with 3 points. ”
But in fact, the national football team has won 3 and lost 2 in the past 5 times against Thailand, and the advantage is not big.
In June 2018, the national football team led by Lippi faced Thailand away and won 2-0 with Wu Lei's two goals, but the Thai team had a clear advantage in this game, and the national football team was able to protect the goal thanks to Yan Junling's bravery.
In January 2019, in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup, the national football team fell behind 0-1 at halftime, but fortunately, Xiao Zhi, a high school striker who was recovering from injuries throughout the Asian Cup, played a key role at a critical moment, he scored the equalizing goal, and then Gao Lin scored the winning penalty, and the national football team won 2-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup.
The national football player said that the team will not lose confidence.
A game you can't afford to lose
At present, the strength of the national football team is indeed in a slippery slope, Wu Lei also said in an interview with CCTV, "We also know that the current strength has no advantage in Asia, but this does not mean that we will give up and lose confidence." ”
"No matter what kind of opponent we face, we will definitely go all out and bring more confidence to Chinese football. ”
However, the industry is not optimistic about the prospects of the national football team - for the overall situation of the entire round of 36, the national football team needs to get at least 1 point to grasp the initiative, once it loses to Thailand, the direct competitor of the qualification, the pressure of the game will be infinitely amplified, and the prospect of qualifying will no longer be optimistic.
The round of 36 is also a qualifying tournament for the 2027 Asian Cup, and the teams that advance to the top 18 will directly get the right to participate in the 2027 Saudi Asian Cup, while the 24 teams that cannot advance will be divided into 6 groups for a home-and-away double round-robin match, and the first place in each group will be able to qualify for an Asian Cup.
Industry analysts believe that if it cannot advance to the round of 18, although the Chinese team still has a high probability of passing the qualifying round and advancing to the Saudi Asian Cup, the Chinese team will basically lose the opportunity to compete with Asia's first-class and second-rate teams in official competitions in the next few years.
Such a low-level competition is likely to lead to a further decline in the level of the national football team - at that time, the national football team will be completely lost in unprecedented boundless darkness...
To some extent, the game against Thailand will be the most important game for Chinese football in the next four or five years.