On the evening of January 17, Beijing time, in the second match of the Asian Cup, the Chinese national football team and the Lebanese team drew 0-0. So far, after two games, the Chinese team has only accumulated two points.
After the game, a large number of fans scolded the national football team angrily, saying that they were too uncompetitive, not to mention that they didn't win two fish belly teams, they didn't even score a single goal, and they scored zero goals in two games, which was very embarrassing, and some people even let the national football team disband on the spot.
In fact, fans may expect too much from the national team. It is true that the fans are dissatisfied with the performance of the national football team, but on the other hand, after the Lebanese team drew with the Chinese team, their head coach was also strongly criticized by the national football association, the media and fans, and even demanded that he be removed immediately. This draw was an unsatisfactory result for both sides. The national football team's failure to beat the world's No. 107 Lebanese team sparked dissatisfaction among fans, and the Lebanese team was also unhappy with the draw with China.
After the game, the Lebanese team's reporters sharply criticized their team. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the team's defensive strategy against the Chinese team, and predicted that the Lebanese team could eventually finish bottom of the group, which he found unacceptable. At the same time, Lebanese media outlet Kooora also published articles mocking their head coach Radulovic. The article emphasizes the timidity of the coach, arguing that he has shown overly conservative tactics in three consecutive games, putting the team in a bad position. They stressed that the Lebanese team needs to adopt more aggressive tactics against a Tajikistan team that is stronger than the Chinese team, and that the current predicament is entirely caused by the coach.
What's even more ridiculous is that the Lebanese Football Federation has also expressed strong dissatisfaction with its own team. After the game, they released a comparison chart of the data of the two teams, showing that in terms of the number of shots on goal, the Chinese team led 14:12, and the Chinese team also had a 7:5 advantage in the number of shots on target. In addition, in terms of possession, the Chinese team reached 60%, while the Lebanese team reached 40%. These statistics show that although Lebanon were able to score a point in this game, it was already quite a difficult result given the overall performance of the game.
Based on these match data, it does show that the Lebanese team was in a passive, pressed state during the game. This prompted the Lebanese Football Federation to directly criticize their head coach Radulovic. They pointed out that despite the team's potential to win, the coach seemed to prefer to keep the draw in place, which made the result of the match regrettable. They stressed that the Lebanese team must win the next match against Tajikistan. The Lebanese Football Federation also said that they did not expect the Chinese team's performance to be so poor, so they expressed serious dissatisfaction with the coach's tactical choice and ability to lead the team.
The anger of the Lebanese fans has also reached a boiling point, and they have joined the ranks of criticism of their own team, especially the manager. Fans denounced the coach's cowardice and lack of tactical adjustment, especially in the substitution strategy. They sarcastically suggested that substitutions should only be made at the 95th minute of the game, as the coach always seemed to delay making adjustments. At the same time, they also pointed out that there were many older players in the squad, but the coach did not make the necessary adjustments in time to allow these tired players to rest. Fans are urging the coach who lacks tactical foresight and acts cowardly to step down, and if he changes the coach and plays in China, he will definitely win easily.
Lebanese fans are very disappointed and angry about the result of not being able to beat the Chinese national football team. It can be seen from the reactions of the Lebanese Football Association, the media and fans that the Chinese national football team has become an opponent who must score points in the eyes of opponents, and has even become the object of confidence enhancement of Asian teams. This reflects the sad fact that the strength and status of the Chinese national football team in Asian football seems to be inferior to what it used to be, so much so that opponents think that not getting a perfect score against them is the result of disappointment.
Judging from these two games and reactions, the current status of the Chinese national football team in Asian football is obviously a focus issue. When teams like Tajikistan and Lebanon failed to emerge victorious against China, their media and fans showed palpable dissatisfaction. Do you think the Chinese team is the biggest belly team in Asia right now?