Tactical Board | Can lose 0-8 to Georgia, will this Thai team become a strong rival of the national football team?
The first match of the world preliminary round of the national football team will face the Thai men's football team, ranked 112th in the world. Because of the two defeats to the opponent in 2013 and 2019, countless Chinese fans were a little uneasy.
However, with the current strength of the Thai team, it should not be enough to pose too much threat to the Chinese men's football team. Jankovic's side got off to a good start, and that's a normal result.
01. A month ago: Thailand had just suffered a 0-8 defeat to Georgia
a. Defeated the national football team twice: The characteristics of the Thai team are still very distinct
The national football team lost 1-5 at home to the Thai team in 2013, which pierced the hearts of countless fans. In 2019, the national football team also had the experience of losing 0-1, which once again injured fans.
Although in the last Asian Cup, Lippi's team came back to eliminate their opponents. However, at that time, he also relied on the appearance of center Xiao Zhi, and the changes brought about by him also had embarrassing moments of falling behind before.
It can be seen from the content of the Thai team's previous games that they still play with a small and fast style, and attach great importance to the cooperation of hitting the wall and receiving the ball without the ball in the front court.
This kind of bright style of play has a high level of ornamentation, and once they successfully enter their own offensive rhythm, the national football team may really leak people.
When the Thai team is attacking, they have a very bright passing rhythm. The catch is to move without the ball and get on the ball in time, so as to make the most of the space that exists in the opponent's defence.
The Thai midfielder in the middle made a crucial deal before he paused to pass to his team-mates on the flank.
The ball was passed to the front of the penalty area, and although the first shot was not good, the teammate who followed up at the back post helped the Thai team to complete the goal with a beautiful shot.
b. Suffered a heavy 8-0 defeat to Georgia last month
Although it can be played beautifully at times, overall the Thai team is still a weak team. In the warm-up match in October, they lost 8-0 to Georgia.
As long as they find the dominant point in the physical confrontation and interrupt the rhythm of the Thai team, they can easily fall into chaos.
The Thai team were aggressive when it came to transitioning between attack and defence, often letting the three defenders drag back and then asking a number of midfielders to chase back or counter-attack on the spot.
Taking advantage of their flexibility, they relied on a succession of tackles and moves to regain possession.
Through continuous pressing and confrontation, the Thai team found an opportunity to break the ball, and then played a crisp transition between attack and defense.
However, once they encounter an opponent who is significantly better than them, the inefficiency of the alignment can also lead to domino defensive holes.
02. The attack of the national football team: the promotion of the core and center forward is the key
a. Push the core + center to make the ball: the key to starting speed
Judging from the current personnel arrangement of the national football team, the team's offense needs a center forward and a propulsion core. Jankovic has used Wei Shihao, Xie Pengfei and Dai Weijun to do this role of dribbling quickly through the midfield.
At the same time, in front of the opponent's penalty area, use the center to make the ball and respond to it, providing opportunities for Wu Lei's intersperse.
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Wei Shihao is obviously the strongest player in the national football team, but even so, without the response of his teammates, he will fall into an embarrassing situation.
The most successful offensive case of the national football team is still the center forward who can connect with himself after pushing the core to start through the center circle.
Ackerson was the best passer before, but unfortunately he wasn't in the squad. Coupled with Zhang Yuning's suspension, the national football team may have to trust Tan Long this time.
Starting from Wei Shihao or Xie Pengfei's dribbling, Wu Lei plays more of a role in interspersing and responding. This time, Ackerson took the ball and passed to Wu Lei, who got the ball and cleverly passed it back, allowing Wei Shihao to shoot and score.
This offensive mode is the starting mode of positional warfare that Jankovic has been pursuing recently.
b. Set-pieces and crosses: the key to playing Thailand
Judging from the team's roster, the centers that can be used in this game are Zhang Yuning, Tan Long and Xie Weijun, but Xie Weijun is also difficult to play a heavy role in this field because of a comminuted fracture of the bridge of the nose.
Fortunately, Tan Long and Zhang Yuning's heading ability is still good, and the set-piece and cross play around them will form a certain threat to the Thai team.
This time Xie Pengfei took a free kick, and the one who completed the header in the middle of the penalty area was Tan Long. Unfortunately, the ball bounced off the post and couldn't score.
The first goal in the friendly match against Vietnam was typical. Using center forwards Tan Long and Wu Lei to attract defense, flank Dai Weijun returned a pass, Liu Yang crossed, and successfully found the vacant Wang Qiuming to complete the goal.
I believe that such a style of play can also hit the weakness of the Thai team. If such a style of play can be successfully replicated in the match against Thailand, then the hope of winning the national football team can also be greatly increased.
03. Is the winner or loser pressing in a high position: is the national football team active or passive?
a. Jankovic pushes high pressing: weakens the burden on the midfield
Judging from the schedule, the Chinese men's football team's away challenge to the Thai team is a game that cannot be lost. After all, the second game is going to play South Korea, and it will be very difficult to win. At the same time, the third game was a guest in Singapore.
If you don't win the first game, there will be a lot of pressure behind, and maybe the first win of the national football team will be postponed to the fourth game.
Since Jankovic took over the national team, he has always insisted on playing in a high position from leading the national Olympic Games, playing the East Asian Cup, to becoming the coach of the national football team.
Tan Long entered his eyes, which was also related to the key goal he scored at the beginning. And the starting point of this goal is that the successful counter-attack in the front court brings opportunities.
The winning goal in the friendly match with Vietnam also came from the successful counter-attack in the front. Wu Lei instantly entered the opponent's hinterland, forming a single opportunity.
In the end, he used a cool shot to push the ball into the bottom of the opponent's net to seal a 2-0 victory.
b. The national football team is also afraid of the opponent's pressing: active mistakes are very fatal
From the warm-up matches in the past two months, it can be seen that the Chinese men's football team has only won 1 of the last 4 games, and has even been forced to draw by the Malaysian team.
Especially in the game against Uzbekistan, the goals conceded were the result of their own mistakes.
Under the lineup of the national football team, it is playing a 523 position, and increasing the number of midfielders forward by advancing the core retreat midfielder (one of Wei Shihao, Xie Pengfei or Dai Weijun).
The problem is that on the wingback side of the national football team, there is no longer a technical point with strong stability with the ball like Luo Guofu. Once targeted by the opponent, the midfield teammates are not numerous, and the connection points and ball routes are limited, and it is easy to make mistakes.
The reason why a midfielder like Wang Shangyuan was added to the three central defenders was also to increase the stability of the ball, but the effect was obviously not as good as expected.
In the match with the Uzbekistan team, Chen Pu's return pass error caused the team to suffer a stunner.
What the national football team is most afraid of at this time is that the side contact point is surrounded by the opponent, no one in the middle can hold the ball, the distance between the guard line and the forward line and him is not good, and once it makes a mistake, it gives the opponent a chance to counterattack.
Conclusion:
The strength of this national football team may be the weakest since the 2018 World Preliminary Championships, but this time the Asian zone will get 8.5 places.
As long as you can make it to the round of 18, everything is possible. Therefore, it is especially important to play the first game against the Thai team. I hope that the national football team will give fans a satisfactory start.