The first match of the Asian round of 18 of the World Preliminary Championship has come to an end, and it can be said that a number of crazy matches have been born in the past night. The national football team suffered a 0-7 defeat to Japan away, which was also the worst defeat in the history of the Chinese team against the two sides, and is currently ranked first from the bottom of Group C. Bahrain in the same group beat Australia 1-0 to finish second in the group with three points. There was also an incredible game where Palestine drew 0-0 with Korea and picked up a valuable point. Bahrain and Palestine showed the charm of football by winning the weak, but the national football team faced a team stronger than itself, and there was little hope of winning, which is what made Chinese fans feel heartache, and the result was already predicted before the game began.
From the point of view, the national football 0-7 defeat to Japan is not a desperate situation, losing 1 goal and losing 7 goals are 0 points, there is no difference, but the terrible thing is that the national football team makes people see no hope of winning in the game. In addition to Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia have upset their first game but have nine games to go, and one of these two teams should finish second in their group and qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The national football team faces Bahrain and Indonesia, and there is no certainty of winning, especially Bahrain, which is ranked 12th in Asia, after beating Australia, the possibility of qualifying for the World Cup has greatly increased, so playing the national football game home and away, their goal is definitely to get 6 points in these 2 games. Therefore, the situation of the top 18 of the national football team is very serious, and now fans are most concerned about whether they can qualify from the group, but whether they can win 1 out of 10 games.
Not surprisingly, after the fiasco of the national football team, the call for Ivankovic's dismissal was very high. And domestic reporter Chen Hua is even more heartbroken, he said on social media that even if Dong Lu is allowed to coach this national football team, it will not defeat the Japan team by 7 goals. "This national football team is poor, but if it is handed over to local coaches such as Gao Hongbo and Wu Jingui, it will not lose 7 away to the Japan team, to put it mildly, let Dong Lu take it, and he will not lose 7."
And Dong Lu also questioned Ivan's 442 tactics from a tactical level, "Ridiculous 442." When the Japan team cut the cross from the left, the Chinese team actually had two defenses and three in front of the goal! Left back Liu Yang is Takumi Minamino in front of him, and behind him is Tang Anritsu, and it is estimated that his head is big." In fact, from the round of 36 to the round of 18, Ivankovic has been using the 442 formation, and he is also a very stubborn coach who will not easily change his coaching philosophy. In the next game of the national football team at home against Saudi Arabia, Ivan will definitely go all out to attack, and it cannot be said that the tactics are wrong, after all, on the court, the famous saying "the best defense is offense" has influenced many coaches, in addition to Ivankovic in football, like D'Antoni in the NBA, Kerr and other famous coaches, all advocate offense.
But in this day and age, defending and counterattacking in the face of a strong opponent is the tactic with the highest probability of winning. From the last World Cup in Qatar to the round of 18 of this World Preliminary Tournament, there are many examples of weak defeating the strong, all of which have something in common, weak teams will not blindly attack, based on defense and counterattack to survive. So it's understandable that everyone questioned Ivan's tactical arrangement.
It is impossible to change the coach now, after all, Ivankovic has completed the task assigned by the Football Association, whether it is luck or not, he did lead the team to the round of 18, which is the bottom line of the Football Association. Although Asia has 8.5 World Cup places, the national football team is basically hopeless, and the next goal should be to win one game in the round of 18 and then talk about other things.