On December 5, local time, in the 1/8 finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Croatian team defeated the Japanese team through a penalty shootout and entered the quarterfinals.
The picture shows Japanese players feeling down after the final whistle.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan
(Qatar World Cup) Farewell to the World Cup in advance, the AFC team looks forward to future development
China News Agency, Beijing, December 6th (Reporter Wang Zumin) There was no surprise expected by Asian fans. The Japanese and South Korean teams were eliminated on the same day in the Qatar World Cup 1/8 finals. This also means that the World Cup belonging to the AFC team has ended an early closure.
This is the second time the World Cup has been held in Asia.
When this green feast first settled in Asia in 2002, as the hosts, the South Korean team and the Japanese team both advanced to the top 16, and the South Korean team broke into the top 4 in one fell swoop, creating a record for Asian and AFC teams in the history of the World Cup so far. best record.
Today, the Hercules Cup once again shines on Asia, and the World Cup has ushered in the largest "Asian Legion", Japan, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the Australian team that joined the AFC in 2006. A total of 6 teams participated. The fans also hope that Asian football can take this opportunity to make another breakthrough.
In the group stage, although the Qatar team became the first host team in the history of the World Cup with 0 points and 0 victories, the overall performance of the Asian team is still commendable.
Saudi Arabia and Japan defeated favorites Argentina and Germany in a surprise upset; as one of the most difficult teams to qualify before the game, Australia beat Denmark, ranked 10th in the world, and advanced to the top 16; Japan reversed and beat Spain Team, advanced to the top of the "death group"; the South Korean team lore defeated the Portuguese team, put it to death and survived... All these classic battles have made people see the hope of the rise of Asian football.
In the end, the three teams of Japan, South Korea, and Australia joined hands to advance to the knockout stage, creating the best record of an AFC team in the World Cup group stage.
But in the knockout round of the "real guns and live ammunition" duel, the gap between the AFC teams was highlighted.
This gap comes from the "flawed injury" in strength.
In the group stage, the South Korean team beat the Portuguese team led by Ronaldo 2:1, which really excited the Asian fans.
But it has to be admitted that the Portuguese team, which has advanced ahead of schedule, sent a rotation lineup, which created an opportunity for the South Korean team to upset.
On December 5, local time, the 1/8 finals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the match between Brazil and South Korea was held at the 974 Stadium.
In the end, the Brazilian team defeated the South Korean team 4:1 and advanced to the top 8 of the World Cup.
The picture shows Brazilian player Vinicius (first from left) attacking with the ball.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita
In the 1/8 finals against the world's dominant Brazil team, the weakness of the South Korean team was fully revealed.
The "Samba Legion" led 4:0 in the first half, and then waited for work, and even "arrogantly" replaced the team's third goalkeeper.
The battle between Argentina and Australia, although the score was 2:1, but on the scene, the Argentine team had a crushing advantage most of the time.
This gap comes from the lack of "temperament".
Whether it is the performance of this cup or the lineup configuration, it has shown that the "Europeanized" Japanese team is moving from the top in Asia to the second in the world.
However, in the knockout round, the lack of "temperament" of the strong team prevented the soldiers of the East from going further.
On December 5, local time, in the 1/8 finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Croatian team defeated the Japanese team through a penalty shootout and entered the quarterfinals.
The picture shows the game scene.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan
In the 1/8 finals, the opponent of the Japanese team was the Croatian team.
Although the "Lattice Army" was the last runner-up, but at a time when the competition is in short supply, the strength and performance of this cup are not as good as before, and there was even a danger of being eliminated from the group.
Moreover, the Croatian team only debuted on the World Cup stage in 1998, and its background is not enough to support it to become a world-class team.
Therefore, before the game, the vast majority of fans were optimistic about the Japanese team as the winner of this campaign.
But in the game, the Japanese team was equalized by the opponent with a 1:0 lead, and unfortunately lost in the penalty shootout.
Throughout the game, the Croatians remained calm and stable from beginning to end, but the Japanese team experienced an "evolution" of self-confidence in the first half, impatience in the second half, and panic in the penalty shootout.
After stopping in the round of 16, Japanese team coach Mori Hoichi said that in the battle with Croatia, the Japanese team had a chance to win, but lost; the Japanese team "wanted to win, but unfortunately".
What Moriyasu said is just a reflection of the Japanese team and some teams lacking the "temperament" of a strong team.
They can dedicate amazing performances in one or a few games, but they are often "powerless" in key battles.
In this cup, the overall performance of the AFC teams has been remarkable, and their progress is even more obvious.
With more and more Asian players "going out" and high-level coaches and foreign players "inviting in", after a longer period of accumulation and experience in more competitions, Asian football will surely have greater development in the future.
(Finish)