Late at night on January 5, 2024, Beijing time, the Chinese national men's football team played a regular friendly match against the UAE Gulf Heroes Club in the country's second league (also known as the first division) in the Abu Dhabi Sports City in the United Arab Emirates. Although the match ended with a 6-2 victory, a number of details and issues revealed during the game still caused concern for many.
In this competition, Chinese youth player Zhang Yuning played well and scored a hat-trick in one fell swoop, while key players such as Wu Lei, Li Lei and Wei Shihao scored goals one after another, adding pride and ambition to the national team. However, the national team's defensive performance continued to be criticized, with the opponents scoring two goals with ease, questioning the quality of the defence and the ability of the players to work together.
To be clear, the game was set up to boost the team's morale and seek a "self-confidence" boost following the 2-1 defeat to Hong Kong. Because of this, the national team showed strong attacking power in this tournament, while also revealing serious holes in the defensive end. Against the UAE A-League giants, the national team's defence is as fragile as paper, which has led to concerns about the prospect of the national team in the Asian Cup.
It is worth noting that the head coach of the Chinese national football team, Jankovic, implemented a series of unexpected tactical deployments in this competition. According to rumors, he actually decided to let Gao Tianyi play as a central defender, and this seemingly confusing tactical transfer was ridiculed by some fans as "a big move of strategy". Even though such tactical changes pose a potential threat to the defensive stability of the national team, as the head coach, Jankovic should bear the primary responsibility for the problems at the defensive level of the national team. Recently, the national team defense list selected by Jankovic has been controversial, and some fans even exclaimed that "Jankovic has lost his mind", accusing him of major omissions in the use of personnel. And this so-called "strategic move" is also seen as the substantial shortcomings of the mainland national football team in terms of human resource reserves.
Looking back on the past, the mainland football celebrity Dabao has played the role of central defender for a long time once caused an uproar, and now Gao Tianyi has appeared again in the central defender position, which makes people question what the difference between the two is? What is even more jaw-dropping is that in the national football squad officially announced by the AFC, striker Lin Liangming was actually noted as a defender, is this a coincidence or Jankovic's intentional arrangement?
For the position of the national team's midfield, many players, including Gao Tianyi, Wu Xi, Wang Qiuming, Wang Shangyuan and Xu Xin, are quite controversial. Many fans have said that these players have not yet reached the level of representing the mainland national team on the field, and the current actual situation of mainland men's football is even more helpless. In the past, these players may not even be able to qualify for the national team, but the harsh reality is always hard to avoid. This undoubtedly exposes the serious shortcomings of the mainland national football team in terms of talent pool, and makes people worry about the future direction of mainland football. Indeed, as the head coach of the national team, Jankovic is under heavy pressure and doubts. He is under scrutiny both in the selection of his players and in the development of tactical strategies. However, in the face of the dilemma of the mainland national football team's personnel reserves, I am afraid that he can not do anything. After all, good players are the key to winning the game, and the continental national football team undoubtedly has a long way to go in this regard.
As for the Chinese national team's defense in this Asian Cup, it is clear that it is not limited to this competition, and its hidden dangers can be seen as early as the preparation stage in the United Arab Emirates. In the first round of training in the United Arab Emirates, the Chinese team faced a team from the local second division, and although they finally won a record-breaking 5-1 victory, they still failed to completely crush the opponent's hopes of scoring the goal, conceding 1 goal. Subsequently, the Chinese team lost 0-2 to Oman and 1-2 to Hong Kong, China. In their most recent fixtures, they have beaten the UAE League One powerhouse by an astonishing 6-2. Looking back at the four games in this series, it is not difficult to see that there are many deficiencies in the Chinese team's defensive system, and the 2-2 record reflects this obvious fact - they have performed well in attack, scoring a total of 12 goals, but in defence, they have been defeated, conceding a full seven.
Such a conspicuous lack of defense is undoubtedly worrying, especially when this situation is presented in such an extreme way in the official stage of the Asian Cup, then for the Chinese team, even achieving the grand goal of advancing to the quarterfinals is a luxury, and it is difficult to predict that they can successfully advance to the knockout stage. It is worth noting that at 10:30 p.m. on January 13, the Chinese men's football team is about to face a strong challenge from Tajikistan in its debut in the group stage. Ironically, China lost 2-1 to Hong Kong, while Tajikistan had just won by the same scoreline. Such a stark contrast is all the more worrying, because it just shows that Tajikistan is by no means a weak team, and if the Chinese team really can't accumulate three points in the opening game, I am afraid that the prospects of qualifying will become even more serious. In the group stage of the Asian Cup, the top two teams in each group and the four third-place teams with the highest points will secure a place in the round of 16. As a result, the Chinese team will need to fight for the right to qualify, but combined with their performance on the defensive end and the result of the match against Tajikistan, it is really doubtful how the Chinese team can gain a foothold on the stage of the Asian Cup, which is full of strong opponents.
The world of football has taught us that it is possible to dramatically change the situation in any situation. In the days to come, the Chinese team should deeply reflect on the lessons of the past, strengthen defensive training, and improve the level of team coordination. At the same time, they need to remain calm and patient on the court, and do not let the whole game lose a big game because of temporary gains and losses. As fans, we should firmly give full support and encouragement to the Chinese team. Despite their difficulties and challenges, we must not give up our trust and expectations in them. We must always believe that they have the strength to get out of the trough and regain their previous form and self-confidence.