Opinion: 0 points!0 goals!The worst record in the history of the Asian Cup!

In the early morning of the 23rd, Beijing time, in the final game of the group stage of the Asian Cup, the Chinese team was scored a world wave by the veteran Haydos who had just appeared in the second half, and finally lost 0-1, thus ending the group stage journey with zero wins, zero goals, and only 2 points, which is also the worst record in the history of their Asian Cup. As the Tajikistan team reversed the Lebanese team with one less player in the same round 2-1 to lock the second place in the group, the Chinese team finally ranked third in Group A, and whether it can qualify can only wait for the "judgment" of competitors in other groups.

As Qatar had already secured a place in the knockout stage with two consecutive wins and locked up the top spot in the group, their coach Marquez almost sent a full bench for this game. Of the 11 players in the starting line-up, only two played in the last round against Tajikistan as starters. In other words, the opportunity to score and even win is already in front of the Chinese team.

It is precisely because of this that the coach of the Chinese team, Jankovic, made a certain adjustment to the starting lineup of the team in this game. Attacker Wei Shihao, who missed the first two rounds of games due to injury, Lin Liangming, a fast horse on the wing, and Wu Xi, the captain of the back, started respectively. Previously, the team's absolute main striker Wu Lei was on standby on the bench. The Chinese team sent a strong signal to fight for their lives by strengthening the offensive lineup.

I have to say that there is a big gap in the strength of Qatar's "second team" and its main lineup. Although they also tried to take the initiative to attack, the Chinese team was more threatening in comparison. Only 6 minutes into the opening game, Wei Shihao received a pass from Zhang Yuning to complete the push, but unfortunately the ball missed the post. After that, Zhang Yuning and Wei Shihao got many good opportunities to score, but unfortunately they failed to grasp it.

The data shows that although the Chinese team had less possession than the opponent in the first half, the eight shots on goal were twice as many as the opponent's shots, and the quality of the shots was significantly better than that of the home team.

After entering the second half, the Chinese team immediately replaced Liu Binbin with another wide attacker, Xie Pengfei, to maintain the offensive firepower. The opponent sent three other bench players, including third goalkeeper Salah, to the pitch, and their intention to practice for the knockout round was very clear.

In the 59th minute, Salah was replaced by the team's main goalkeeper due to injury. At this time, the veteran Qatar coach Max sent the veteran captain Haydos and the top scorer Afif both on the field. As a result, the substitution was immediate, with Haydos receiving a corner kick from Afif and volleying from outside the box to break the deadlock.

After conceding the goal, the Chinese team was divided into Wei Shihao and Wu Xi by striker Wu Lei and defender Xu Xin. Jankovic was forced to introduce a "double center" tactic in a critical situation. In the 84th minute, Jankovic showed the "last card" in his hand and arranged for Jiang Shenglong, who was 1.95 meters, to replace Wang Shangyuan as a center forward. However, a series of adjustments did not bring any significant improvement to the team's attack, and the score remained 0-1 until the end.

In the other match in the same group that kicked off at the same time, Tajikistan reversed Lebanon, who had been sent off 2-1, to finish second in Group A with four points. The Chinese team finished third in the group with 2 draws and 1 loss. According to the rules of the Asian Cup, the best four of the six group thirds can also qualify, but the Chinese team, which only holds two points, is "dying" in this competition.

Text/Beijing Youth Daily, Doha, Qatar Special correspondent Xiao Yun