With the completion of the last intensive training session of the year and the successful completion of the Spring Series, the high-profile clash between the Chinese Olympic team and the Malaysian team has become the focus of attention. This duel is tense and exciting, and the suspense is repeated. In this game, the Chinese team showed fearless determination and high morale, but the Malaysian team finally defeated the Chinese Olympic team by a narrow margin of 1:0 by virtue of a stoppage-time stunner. For the Chinese team, this defeat was undoubtedly a heavy blow to them, and it was also a major setback for the historical record.
The defeat also revealed the serious challenges facing Chinese football. Since 1976, this is undoubtedly the first time that Chinese youth football teams at all levels and senior national teams have lost to the Malaysian team, which can be called an extremely humiliating experience in the history of Chinese football development. This result is a reminder that Chinese football needs to fundamentally seek solutions to problems, attach importance to infrastructure construction, and comprehensively improve its overall competitive level.
As the head coach of the Chinese Olympic team, Cheng Yaodong has always endured doubts from the majority of fans since he took on the heavy responsibility. No matter how unremarkable the team's performance on the field is, the pressure is bound to hit you head-on. However, it turned out that the wheel of fortune was slightly offset on the stage of the Asian Games. Relying on the outstanding performance of several outstanding players in the team, the Chinese Olympic team still achieved satisfactory results in the event. This success not only earned the Chinese Olympic team a place on the Asian stage, but also secured Cheng Yaodong's position as head coach, allowing him to continue to lead the team forward.
The glorious victory of the Asian Games failed to quell all the controversy and opposition. In order to prepare for the upcoming U23 Asian Cup, the Chinese men's football team immediately devoted itself to intense training after the conclusion of the Asian Games. In order to simulate the actual competition situation, the whole team completed four warm-up games, all of which were held at home. Perhaps because of the geographical advantages, or in order to avoid the fatigue of the long journey, the opponents selected by the team are generally weaker. These opponents can only be counted as second-rate or lower in Asia, such as Tajikistan in Central Asia and Malaysia in this case.
In a recently concluded match, the Chinese Olympic team encountered an unprecedented predicament. Although the game went into stoppage time, Malaysia's stunning goal completely crushed the Chinese Olympic team, and this irretrievable defeat reminded people of that painful history, which was an embarrassing record that has not been shaken for 43 years. However, from this game, we can still see the changes and progress that are quietly taking place in the Chinese Olympic team. Unlike in the past, the team's approach to the game is more rigorous and dynamic. Every player puts their heart and soul into the game, fighting for every attacking opportunity with all their might. Coach Cheng Yaodong has also shown a pragmatic and efficient work style, no longer over-pursuing the number of goals in sports battles, but instead focusing most of his energy on the use of set-piece tactics.
Such a strategic realignment is not unfounded. In the face of third-rate and even fourth-rate teams in Asian football, it is increasingly difficult for the Chinese Olympic team to score goals in sports battles. Set-pieces, on the other hand, have gradually grown into a winning weapon for the team. In this matchup, the Chinese team successfully seized every good opportunity from set-pieces, and twice broke the opponent's defense through this strategy in the first half. On that verdant turf, the Chinese team showcased their superb passing skills and ability to catch detailed set-pieces. In just five minutes into the game, they managed to score the first goal with a clever and spectacle free-kick that managed to head the ball into the opposition goal. The goal was a classic example of China's past past victories over Southeast Asian opponents, making the most of their height and strength.
The race didn't go as smoothly and orderly as one might expect. Rival Malaysia's Arif showed exceptional fighting spirit and quickly levelled the scores. The equaliser put pressure on the Chinese team, who were forced to die in the aftermath. Just when everyone expected that the two teams might be locked into a tug-of-war, Arif made a handball mistake in the penalty area, which led to a second yellow card from the referee, and the player was sent off with a red card and awarded an indirect free kick to China. This indirect free-kick brought a huge reversal to the whole game. Thanks to their well-thought-out strategy and close teamwork, the Chinese team finally managed to score the winning goal in the final stage of the competition with this crucial indirect free kick, leading their opponents 2:1. At this time, the Chinese team not only took the lead in points, but also had an absolute advantage in the number of players, forming an 11-10 favorable situation. The audience cheered and cheered, and they looked forward to the Chinese team to continue to play well in the following games, strive for more goals, and continue to widen the score difference.
On Sunday night, the Chinese team met the Asian football powerhouse Malaysia in a narrow way. The pre-match predictions are basically in favor of the Chinese team, not only because they have the advantage of being at home, but more importantly, because the team has a strong lineup, especially in the midfield. However, the actual course of the game was far from expected. In the second half of the game, the Chinese team had a clear advantage in numbers, and fans were expecting the team to take advantage of this advantage to break the current flat situation on the field. However, what happened next was a big disappointment - almost at the end of the second half, the two teams actually exchanged blanks, and failed to set any goal records. It is amazing that such a dramatic scene appeared between the Chinese team and the Malaysian team, two teams that seem to have a huge disparity in strength.
Although the Malaysian team is not a top team in Asian football, it is sometimes considered a second-rate or third-rate club. However, in the face of such an unfavorable situation, the Chinese team failed to seize the opportunity and showed due strength and fighting spirit, which undoubtedly made the audience and fans feel extremely disappointed. Considering the strong opponent bench, the prospects of the Chinese men's football team in the upcoming group stage of the Asian Cup are still not optimistic. Against Asia's top teams such as the United Arab Emirates, Japan and South Korea, it seems like a luxury to try to score goals, with defence a priority. In three games, as long as we concede no more than 10 goals and don't suffer a huge defeat like last night, we can be considered to have achieved a fundamental goal at hand. Therefore, for the Chinese men's football team, the only direction of the Asian Cup is to try to avoid a recurrence of the tragedy.
After the successful conclusion of this game, the Chinese team's months-long global competition will also come to an end. All the players will temporarily leave the national team and return to their respective clubs and regional teams to prepare for the upcoming domestic league and various international competitions. At the same time, the national team will also start the corresponding personnel deployment and tactical research to ensure that there is more time to prepare for future competitions. As for January next year, before the New Year, the Chinese team will regroup and start a new cycle of global stationing training activities. Taking this rare opportunity, I hope that the national team can completely find its own chess game and further enhance the overall strength of the whole team. Despite the current challenges, the Chinese men's football team has always had firm beliefs at this moment, is brave and fearless, goes all out, and continues to forge ahead towards a higher goal.
Disclaimer: The process and pictures described in the article are from the Internet, and this article aims to advocate positive social energy and no vulgar and other bad guidance. If it involves copyright or character infringement issues, please contact us in time, and we will delete the content as soon as possible!