China's first battle preview: strive to get off to a good start for 5 consecutive games! The weakest opponent with 4 naturalizations may make the most difficult 1 battle
At 22:30 on January 13, Beijing time, the Chinese men's football team will officially start the Asian Cup. They will face their first opponent in the group stage at the Khalifa Stadium, Tajikistan.
In the past four Asian Cups, the Chinese men's football team has made a good start. Even in the first game of 2015, they beat the Saudi Arabian team, a traditional Asian powerhouse, 1-0. In the past 6 editions, the Chinese men's football team has been unbeaten in the first game of the Asian Cup (4 wins and 2 draws). The last time the national football team lost in the opening game of the Asian Cup was back in the 1996 Asian Cup (0-2 Uzbekistan). Therefore, Jankovic naturally hopes to continue the good momentum of the Chinese men's football team in the first game of this Asian Cup.
【Outbound Analysis】
In this Asian Cup, the Chinese men's football team is in Group A with the host Qatar, the West Asian powerhouse Lebanon and Tajikistan from Central Asia. Due to the expansion of the Asian Cup to 24 teams. The 3rd place in the 4 best groups of the 6 groups can also qualify, which to a certain extent makes the pressure on the national football team to qualify a lot less. In the first two rounds, the national football team faced Tajikistan and Lebanon to try to get 4 points. Before facing the host Qatar in the final round, it is good to occupy a favorable position in the qualification competition.
Judging from the overall strength and world ranking, the national football team will be at a disadvantage in the face of the host Qatar, and the ideal situation is to strive for the second place in the group. In this way, the national football team will have a chance to meet the second place in Group C. Whether it is facing the UAE team or the Palestinian team with dark horse potential, I believe that the national football team has a chance to fight, then there is a chance, and I hope for a ticket to the top 8 to tie the record of the last Asian Cup.
【Opponent Overview】
Although Tajikistan are considered the weakest team in Group A, they have grown rapidly in recent years and have previously reached the final of the Asian Youth Championship. In the last World Preliminary Round of 40, they ranked second in the group behind Japan, but failed to advance to the round of 12 due to goal difference. In the previous warm-up match, Tajikistan overthrew Hong Kong, China 2-1, while the Chinese men's football team lost to Hong Kong, China 1-2 in the warm-up match.
Similar to Uzbekistan, which is also in Central Asia, Tajikistan has a fast overall movement speed, good passing and receiving skills, and is good at pressing high. Perhaps the most difficult part of the road to the Asian Cup of the National Football Team is this match with Tajikistan.
Previously, Tajikistan announced a list of 26 players in the Asian Cup, and as many as 9 played in overseas leagues. In addition, Tajikistan also has 4 naturalized players, all naturalized from Russia, namely goalkeeper Yatimov, midfielder Umarbayev, Galilov and Khailoyev, of which Umarbayev and Galilov have been selected for the Russian national youth team, and are now the absolute main force of Tajikistan, and the naturalization time is relatively long, while Khailoyev is only 20 years old and plays for the Tyumen team in the Russian league.
Even the national football team leader Shao Jiayi said bluntly: "Although Tajikistan is a team in the fourth pot, this is an opponent we don't want to meet." "The most difficult part of the road to the Asian Cup may be this match with Tajikistan.
【Battle Record】
The national teams of the two sides have met 5 times in the A-level competition, and the national football team is unbeaten with 4 wins and 1 draw, scoring 9 goals and conceding only 1 goal. The last time the two teams met was on June 11, 2019, when the Chinese men's football team won 1-0 thanks to Yang Xu's goal in a friendly match at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou. But in that game, Tajikistan did not fall behind at all, and the two sides showed a five-five situation.
It is worth mentioning that in 2016 and 2018, the Chinese National Youth lost to the Tajikistan National Youth for 2 consecutive times, with the scores of 0-2 and 0-1 respectively. The Asian Cup internationals who participated in the two Asian Youth Championships include Lin Liangming, Wu Shaocong, Zhu Chenjie, and Jiang Shenglong. And Panžişambe and Hamrokulov, who scored goals for Tajikistan, are currently in the Tajikistan national team.
【Initial Prediction】
China Men's Football Team (4-4-2): Yan Junling/Zhang Linpeng, Zhu Chenjie, Jiang Guangtai, Liu Yang/Liu Binbin, Wang Qiuming (Xu Xin), Wang Shangyuan, Lin Liangming (Wei Shihao)/Tan Long, Wu Lei
Tajikistan (4-3-3): Yatimov/Akhtam-Nazarov, Yurabayev, Khanonov, Safarov/Panžişambe, Khailoyev, Umarbayev/Jalilov, Kamolov, Soyrov
[Pre-match sound]
Jankovic (China Coach): We respect this Tajikistani team that loves football, but competitive sports have to give their all to respect the opponent, and hopefully both teams can enjoy the game and hope we can win the game.
Shegert (Tajikistan coach): China is a very strong opponent and I was surprised by the result of the Chinese men's football team's defeat to Hong Kong. But you never know what's going to happen in Game 1, we all have to play our best in every game in the cup and I respect the Chinese team.
【Featured Players】
Kamolov (Tajikistan)
Born in 2003, he is a promising star of Tajik football. Although he only made his debut for the national team in November last year, the talented rising star has gradually established himself as a regular striker for the national team. Kamolov is not a traditional center forward, he is only 1.75 meters tall, mainly on the wing, somewhat similar to Wu Lei. In addition, Kamolov also briefly spent time in the Spanish league in 2021-11.
Wei Shihao (China)
Although Wei Shihao may not be the starter in the first game of the Asian Cup, he is expected to come off the bench and definitely has the ability to change the game. In the first match against Thailand in the round of 36, Wei Shihao became one of the brightest players in the national football team, and in the warm-up match before the Asian Cup, Wei Shihao also scored wonderful goals. Compared with Wu Lei, who is in declining form, Wei Shihao is undoubtedly the attacker that the Chinese people look forward to more in this Asian Cup.