When you think of the Chinese women's football team in 1999, what comes to mind?
World Cup runner-up, hand-in-hand entrance ceremony, "Storm Rainbow, Sonorous Rose", Boston fireworks and cars, the tears of the Rose Bowl, and a song that even people who don't pay attention to football can follow the hum - "Liu Ailing wants to take the flat burden and let Sun Wen take a break to smoke a bag of cigarettes..."
All of the above shows the unparalleled influence of that Chinese women's football team. In that year and many, many years after that, the achievements of women's football girls may have ups and downs, but the talent and effort they showed on the field of competition are deeply engraved in the hearts of the Chinese people, and gradually become a monument in the field of Chinese football and even Chinese sports.
But if someone asks: How did the Chinese women's football team score in the World Cup in the United States that year?
Do you have the answer in your memory?
In the 1999 World Cup, the Chinese women's football team scored 19 goals in the regular time of 6 games, which can be called the strongest firepower among the 16 teams in this cup, and the team's top scorer Sun Wen also picked up the Golden Boot with 7 goals. This cup alone can find a bunch of goals from the top ten levels of Chinese women's football.
The first match of the group stage was a 2-1 win against Sweden. In the 25th minute, Liu Ailing did not stop the ball in the chaotic bush at the top of the arc of the penalty area, directly in place and gently got rid of the finished shot, the ball crossed the opponent's entire defense line and fell straight into the net.
Defeating Russia 2-0 in the quarterfinals, in the 37th minute, the 18-year-old Pu Wei walked through Yang, broke the ball in front of the field and fired directly from 25 meters away, and the ball bounced into the goal.
△ 18-year-old Pu Wei (2nd from left)
Sweeping defending champions Norway 5-0 in the semi-finals, Sun Wen and Liu Ailing joined forces to give the fans a goal feast:
Nearly 2 minutes after the opening, Liu Ailing picked out a pass to create a threat, Sun Wen caught the fighter on the right side, and after receiving the ball in the penalty area, she cut inside the defense and shot with her left foot to send the ball into a dead corner;
In the 13th minute, Liu Ailing volleyed with her right foot in the arc of the penalty area, and the ball exploded into the corner like a cannonball, leaving Norwegian goalkeeper Nordby helpless to smile bitterly;
In the second half, Liu Ying's corner kick created chaos, and Liu Ailing once again seized the opportunity in the penalty area, and the left foot volleyed the goal. This miraculous performance of opening the bow left and right was also praised by FIFA as a "football textbook" after the game.
Although it was eventually missed out on the championship, in that era, through the narrow TV screen, just relying on some mottled color pictures and broadcast signals with almost no so-called clarity, the Chinese women's football team's desire to win, sense of responsibility and technical and tactical level left an unusually distinct mark on the hearts of countless fans. Even as the years go by, these memories become blurred, but when the picture reappears, the excitement and emotion of 20 years ago seem to be yesterday.
20 years later, the Chinese women's football team once again embarked on the journey of the World Cup, and just tonight, they will compete with the Rio Olympic champion Germany.
It seems to be the same as 20 years ago: the same local coach led the team, the same strong opponent, the same courage to never back down, the same sonorous rose style.