China News Service, Tianjin, March 26 (Reporter Bian Liqun) At 20:00 on the 26th, the national football team will play against the Singapore team again in the World Cup qualifiers. In last week's confrontation, the national football team was scored by the Singaporean team in the final stage to equalize the second goal. As the Thai team tied with the South Korean team 1:1 in an away game in the same round, the situation for the national football team to advance to the top 18 suddenly became serious.
Returning to the home court to face the Singaporean team again, the national football team has recovered from the disappointment of the previous game. Coach Ivankovic said that the team will meet the challenge, play a better process in the game, and go all out to win the game.
Press conference before the national football match. Photo by reporter Bian Liqun
Another match at home
On the evening of the 25th, the Singapore team and the national football team conducted pre-match training at Tianjin Shuidi Stadium. Although the temperature is shown as over ten degrees, it still feels quite cool to the body, much lower than what the numbers indicate.
At the pre-match press conference, Singapore coach Tsutomu Ogura mentioned the weather right from the start. He said that Tianjin is much colder than Singapore and requires more warm-up before the game.
Perhaps it was because they scored one point against the Chinese team in the last game, but the Singapore team's pre-match training atmosphere was quite active and cheerful. However, Tsutomu Ogura was still very cautious during the interview and was unwilling to say more about the game-related topics.
He only revealed that he was not satisfied with the team's performance in the first half of the last game and did not play the football they wanted. Regarding the second match, he believed that although the team had some injuries and suspensions, it was not a big problem.
The home stadium of the National Football Team’s World Cup preliminaries is Tianjin Water Drop Stadium. Photo by reporter Bian Liqun
How to adjust
In the first round against Singapore, the national football team started well in the first half, but failed to seize several must-goal opportunities, which posed hidden dangers for the second half.
The unsatisfactory result was mainly due to the team's offensive misfire in the second half and the loss of control in the midfield. Especially after Wei Shihao and Lin Liangming replaced Xie Pengfei and Li Yuanyi, the midfielder fell into a further out-of-control situation.
Judging from training, Ivankovic may make fine adjustments to the personnel. Compared with the previous game, Lin Liangming, Gao Tianyi, and Gao Zhunyi wore orange training vests, while goalkeeper Wang Dalei trained alone. Zhang Linpeng and Wang Shangyuan, who started the last game, did not wear training vests. There are no changes for other players.
Overall, when facing the Singapore team again, the national football team's adjustment idea is still to optimize the offense, and the diamond midfielder will be used. In terms of personnel, Ivankovic revealed that there are currently no injuries in the team, and Zhang Yuning, who left the field injured in the last game, is not seriously injured.
The national football team trains on the field before the game. Photo by reporter Bian Liqun
must win
In addition to the technical and tactical levels, how the national football team gets rid of the negative impact of the last draw is the key to determining the direction of the game.
Wu Lei revealed that he did not play well in the last game and the entire team was disappointed after the game. But after returning to Tianjin, the whole team has come out of this emotion.
"By watching the video, the first half of the last game gave us confidence. We created a lot of threats on the offensive end, and we can just play according to the same strategy. Our goal is to win with all our strength." Wu Lei said.
Judging from the qualifying situation, the national football team cannot afford to lose in this game. They must win to be qualified to discuss the life-and-death battle with the Thai team at home.
Ivankovic said that it is more difficult to play two games in a row with an opponent in a short period of time. The team is fully prepared and will go all out to win.
"The results of the last game gave the Singapore team motivation and gave us more challenges. We will meet the challenges and play a better process in the game." Ivankovic said. (over)