Beijing, October 10 (Zhongxin Net) -- The Chinese women's football team is about to embark on the journey of the Paris Olympic qualifiers, and on the evening of the 24th, the team will face the powerful North Korean women's football team.

This is the third biggest event for the Chinese women's football team this year, given that the previous results in the Women's World Cup and the Hangzhou Asian Games were not too satisfactory, and the Olympic preliminary round fell into the "death group", the pressure and challenges facing the Chinese women's football team today are not light.

Late on the night of the 23rd, the Chinese women's football team announced the list of 22 participants, and Wang Shuang finally missed due to injury, which added some uncertainties to the not too optimistic Olympic preliminary journey.

The latest list of Chinese women's football. Image source: China Women's Football Team

The team is further rejuvenated

Regarding Wang Shuang's injury, the Chinese women's football team said that Wang Shuang was unable to participate in the current national team training and competition due to severe plantar fasciitis and other injuries.

"During the Hangzhou Asian Games, Wang Shuang insisted on playing with injuries and made great contributions to the team, but at the same time, it also aggravated the injury. During the training period of the national team, the Chinese women's football coaching staff and medical team have been in close communication with Wang Shuang and his club and proposed treatment plans, but Wang Shuang's injury recovery is not ideal. ”

Wang Shuang (left) and Shui Qingxia compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Photo by Yin Liqin, reporter of China News Agency

In addition to Wang Shuang, who was absent due to injury, Zhang Xin, Gu Yasha, and Ou Yiyao, who had previously competed in the World Cup and the Olympic Games, were also absent from the list.

Overseas players Shen Monroe and Tu Linli, who have played well in overseas leagues, were selected, and Wang Yanwen and Wu Chengshu returned to the team. As a result, the Chinese women's football team is even younger than before, with the average age dropping to 25.4 years.

In the previous World Cup and Asian Games, veterans Zhang Xin and Gu Yasha did not have too many opportunities to play. Therefore, on the whole, the main framework of the Chinese women's football team in this Olympic preliminary round has not changed much, and more changes are reflected in the "back hand".

Shen Monroe and Tu Linli, as the "young blood" of the team, can bring some novelty and changes at key moments, it is worth looking forward to.

Liuyang young player Shen Monroe has been in good shape recently. Image source: Celtic Women

The outlook is hardly optimistic

In the second stage of the Olympic Preliminary Round, the Chinese women's football team is in the same group as the North Korean women's football team, the Thai women's football team and the South Korean women's football team.

The North Korean women's team and the South Korean women's football team are also old rivals of the Chinese team. In the last Olympic preliminary round, it was the Chinese women's football team that defeated the South Korean women's football team with a thrilling score of 4:3 on aggregate in two legs, grabbing a valuable ticket to the Tokyo Olympics. In the Asian Cup final early last year, the Chinese women's football team defeated the South Korean women's football team 3-2, winning the cup after 16 years.

The North Korean women's football team has rarely appeared in international competitions in recent years, but it remains competitive in Asia. In the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou Asian Games, they defeated the South Korean women's football team 1-4. The Chinese women's football team has won many and lost many matches with their opponents, with 4 win, 1 draw and 5 defeats in the last 1 matches.

At the Hangzhou Asian Games, the Chinese women's football team played the Thai women's football team and won 4:0.

Infographic: The Chinese women's football team celebrates winning the Asian Cup.

According to the format, the first place in the three groups and the second place in the best group in this stage will advance to the third stage of the Olympic Preliminary Round for the final battle for Olympic tickets.

A cruel reality is that based on the grouping situation, it is not easy for the Chinese women's football team to compete for the first place in the group, and it is not easy to become the second in the group with the best results.

Because the strength of several teams in the group of the Chinese women's football team is very close, only the Thai women's football team is relatively limited, which can be used to "brush points" and earn goal difference.

In contrast, Vietnam Women's team, the second tier of Group C, has a slight advantage. Compared to its opponents, Uzbekistan in third pot and India in fourth pot, Vietnamese women's football team has a certain advantage in terms of strength, and is more likely to take points and score more goal difference.

Data map: Chinese women's football team 1:6 England women's football team, missed the World Cup group qualification. Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita

How to break the offensive puzzle

Of course, for the Chinese women's football team, it is more about being yourself. If you want to stand out, in the final analysis, you still need hard power.

One of the more worrying points is that Wang Shuang has rarely missed major competitions in which the Chinese women's football team participates, and at the Asian Cup early last year, even if Wang Shuang was injured, she still entered the team list.

In the Women's World Cup, the only two goals scored by the Chinese women's football team were scored by Wang Shuang. Especially against the life and death battle of the Haitian women's team, Wang Shuang's winning penalty was crucial, of course, thanks to Zhang Linyan, who created the penalty.

Wang Shuang in the game. Photo/Visual China

In the current Olympic preliminaries, the Chinese women's football team has no Wang Shuang, who has experienced big scenes, which has also become an uncertain factor for the team.

More worryingly, in recent key battles at the World Cup and Asian Games, the Chinese women's football team has been weak in attack, with limited goals all coming from corner kicks and penalties.

For example, in the first match of the World Cup against Denmark, the Chinese women's football team once started well, but in the case of no gains in the offensive end, it was finally eliminated by the opponent. In the semifinals of the Asian Games against the Japanese women's football team, the Chinese team also started well, but under the fruitless all-out attack, it was pulled away by several counterattacks from the opponent.

In this crucial battle with the North Korean women's football team and the South Korean women's football team, if the Chinese women's football team still cannot solve the problem of offensive sports warfare, then I am afraid that the same dilemma will be repeated. (End)