China News Service, Tianjin, March 27 (Reporter Bian Liqun) After a 4-1 victory over the Singapore team in the World Cup preliminaries, the national football team in trouble was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Even though the team was at a low ebb, there were still 42,977 fans supporting the national football team at the game on the evening of the 27th, reaching the upper limit of attendance.
42,977 people came to support the national football team, which was at a trough. Photo by reporter Bian Liqun
After the game, in the red Tianjin Olympic Sports Center Stadium, the entire audience sang "Ode to the Motherland". For the national football team, this scene has indeed been absent for a long time. And this excitement, excitement and unity are what football should be like.
However, after the celebration, the real and painful problem before the national football team is how to find a way to win the life-and-death battle against the Thai team in the next more than two months. Judging from the current situation, the team is still facing difficulties.
Wu Lei celebrates scoring a goal. Image source: Visual China
conservation of luck
Objectively speaking, although the Singaporean team is only ranked 156th in the world, winning this game is not enough to celebrate with much fanfare, but considering the situation of qualifying with life hanging by a thread, the pressure and emotions caused after the last draw, as well as the technical and tactical Considering the challenge of two meetings in six days, the victory of the national football team is worth celebrating.
After winning, the national football team not only kept the hope of qualifying, but also broke the deadlock of five official games without a win. The team can take a breath and face the life-or-death battle with the Thai team with a better mentality.
It has to be said that the national football team had good luck in this game. Although they were careless after scoring and were equalized by the opponent, fortunately in the second half, Fernando hit a penalty kick to help the team take the lead again.
The national football team celebrates a goal. Image source: Visual China
After the most critical 75 minutes, facing the Singapore team's counterattack, Li Yuanyi received a red card for a foul. His opponent Zhou Junheng, who had just come on as a substitute, was injured and could not hold on. Since the Singapore team had already used up 5 substitutions, both sides Or the number of people is equal. After the 10-man challenge, the national football team strengthened the defense of the midfield and resolutely played double midfielders.
Opponent coach Tsutomu Ogura felt disappointed after the game. In his opinion, the team played well in 11 vs. 11, but after being forced to play 10 vs. 10, the team was unable to play according to the tactics they were used to, resulting in an unsatisfactory final result. As expected. Tsutomu Ogura does have reason to feel aggrieved. After all, the two goals that sealed the victory for the national football team were both in the 10-on-10 stage. Without this turning point, the result would have been hard to say.
This kind of competition process is obviously blessed by luck. In view of the lucky goal scored by the opponent in the first round, the national football team can be regarded as experiencing the conservation of luck.
Singapore team coach Tsutomu Ogura (left) photo by reporter Bian Liqun
Still need to adjust
Luck is important in football matches, but relying solely on luck is not reliable. There are three adjustments to the starting lineup of the national football team in this game. Midfielder Gao Tianyi replaces Wang Shangyuan, Micro Motion Yi replaces Zhang Linpeng, and goalkeeper Wang Dalei replaces Yan Junling.
The last two adjustments are more of forced adjustments. Under the pressure of the last draw, they can be regarded as a kind of protection for Yan Junling and Zhang Linpeng. After Wang Dalei started, the effect was indeed good. Not only was he shouting reminders to his teammates, but he was also quite effective in initiating long-pass attacks in the backcourt.
Gao Tianyi's adjustments are mainly aimed at midfield offense, but from the actual combat effect, they are not particularly ideal. As the team's sole defensive midfielder, he struggled to play. In the second half, he made a fatal mistake at the edge of the penalty area and almost allowed the opponent to equalize the score. This kind of scene appeared as early as the warm-up match with the Uzbekistan team in the Jankovic era.
It wasn't until Wang Shangyuan replaced Fernando and Li Yuanyi left the field in red, and Wang Shangyuan partnered with Gao Tianyi to form a double midfielder, that the situation on the national football field finally stabilized.
National football coach Ivankovic (left) and captain Wu Lei at the post-match press conference. Photo by reporter Bian Liqun
June showdown
There are still more than two months until the life-or-death battle with Thailand at home in June. Judging from the performance of the Singapore team in the two games, the national football midfielder still needs to make some adjustments. Especially when facing Singapore's midfield combination in the first round, the lessons it brought were profound enough. Facing the Thai team with a stronger offense, it is obviously not feasible to only use Wang Shangyuan or Gao Tianyi as the single defensive midfielder.
National football coach Ivankovic said after the game: "I know that the goal against the Thai team must be to win. We will adjust and fine-tune the lineup through further understanding of the Chinese players in the next two months, and use the whole to make up for the lack of individual ability. .”
At the same time, he also expressed regret for Wu Lei and Li Yuanyi, who are facing suspensions in the next game. "Wu Lei is our captain and best player. It is a pity for us that Li Yuanyi is in such good condition but cannot play."
It may not be easy for Ivankovic to find a replacement player. Perhaps we need to see how forward Alan recovers in the next league, and whether midfielders Cheng Jin, Xu Haoyang, etc. can continue their good form.
Facing the decisive battle with Thailand in June, if the national football team wants to win, it needs to study a new method of midfield defense. Although Ivankovic still revealed signs of optimizing offense after the game, facing the strong Thai and South Korean teams, I am afraid this is more of an ideal and a reality.