Before the start of the second round of Group D of the U20 Asian Cup last night, almost no one believed that the Chinese National Youth Team could survive the match against Saudi Arabia. After a two-game losing streak, early group exit seems to be a result with a high probability. But the final score surprised everyone.
The Chinese team, which was passive for most of the division time, miraculously defeated the defending champion 2-0 with two simple and efficient quick counterattacks, and continued to maintain the possibility of advancing to the knockout round. This is an extremely precious victory. No matter from which point of view, the boys of the National Youth Team are commendable. They have made up for the technical and tactical gap between themselves and their opponents by relying on their hard work and fighting spirit that never give up. It is also the most lacking quality in Chinese football.
In the first round of the group, the Chinese team was defeated by the Japanese team 2-1 after scoring a goal in the opening 6 minutes. Forward Eiffelding admitted the huge gap with the opponent after the game, but he also said that if the ball If the team can be more mature in the game, the result may be better. “We are still inexperienced, especially in this kind of competition. We are lacking in concentration and adaptability. In the leading situation, we still don’t know what to do.” to stabilize the situation.”
As the strongest point of attack on the Chinese team’s front line, Eiffelding must have gained a lot from the loss to the Japanese team, and then grew into a key figure in winning yesterday’s game. In the 65th minute, Eiffelding cut the line from the left and then made a pass. He sent the ball to the back point accurately. In the 72nd minute, in the face of the Saudi team that was aggressively pressing, Eiffeldin received a direct pass from his teammate and quickly advanced, and handed the ball to Baihe Ramu. Xu Bin pushed the goal easily. Here comes an unexpected victory.
Just look at the data to see how difficult the Chinese team’s victory is: the Saudi team’s possession rate was close to 76%, far exceeding the Chinese team’s 24%; in terms of the number of shots, the Saudi team scored 16 to 8. Far ahead. During the game, the Saudi team had many excellent opportunities to score goals, but with the hard work of the Chinese guys, the crisis was resolved time and time again. In the 47th minute, Zhang Yixuan in the small penalty area rushed to the ground before the opponent’s players outflanked the ball and destroyed the ball in a thrilling manner; in the 60th minute, the Saudi player used his personal ability to repeatedly attack the Chinese team’s penalty area, and the goalkeeper Li Hao maintained a high level of concentration In the 75th minute, Li Hao saved another shot that was close at hand in front of the goal. Being able to resolve the crisis continuously in the game has a certain element of luck, but more depends on the fighting spirit of the players to “run one more step” and “fight more”. It is this kind of fighting spirit that fundamentally helps the Chinese National Youth While ensuring that the goal is not lost, the team can continue to use quick counterattacks to win.
It is worth mentioning that in the qualifiers of this U20 Asian Cup, the Chinese team is also in the same group as the Saudi team. In the final round of the preliminaries, the Chinese team led by Antonio lost 0 to 1 to their opponents, and finally they could only enter the finals as “the second best in the five groups”. The Saudi team’s performance in that game was also strong, taking the initiative almost all the time. Perhaps it was that victory that gave the Saudi team an expectation that they could easily beat the Chinese team. Before the start of the game, Saudi coach Saleh Mohammadi didn’t pay attention to the Chinese team at all, “The Saudi team is the defending champion, and we have always been winners. Our first goal is to qualify for the Asian Cup group , and the second goal is to qualify for the U20 World Cup. We will strive to get first in the group to achieve our goal.”
Regardless of whether the National Youth Team’s victory is related to the opponent’s underestimation of the enemy, the young Chinese players have achieved two important goals of this competition. The team leader Shao Jiayi once talked about these two goals: first, the team must show the fighting spirit of “death on the battlefield” in terms of style. The ball can be lost, but the style must not be lost; Show higher and better abilities than the qualifiers, and show the progress. In this game against Saudi Arabia, the National Youth Team did both.
According to the schedule, the Chinese team will face the Kyrgyzstan team in the final round of Group D on the 9th, and striving to win will be the team’s only option. According to the rules of this competition, when two or more teams have the same score, the results of each other will be compared first. The most extreme situation is that China wins in the last round, and Saudi Arabia beats Japan at the same time. The three teams of China, Japan and Saudi Arabia will have 6 points. Goal difference) No matter what score they beat Japan (currently 1 goal difference), it is impossible for the two teams to surpass the Chinese team in terms of goal difference at the same time. Therefore, if the national youth team beats Kyrgyzstan, it will definitely qualify.
Fate is in the hands of the Chinese U20 team. But don’t forget Saudi Arabia’s arrogance before the game. Although the Kyrgyzstan team lost in the first two games, they also showed a certain degree of tactical quality. Chinese football is far from having the strength to underestimate opponents. Continuing to show fighting spirit and hard work is the only motivation for the Chinese National Youth Team to move forward. (Photo/Visual China)
Author: Chen Haixiang
Edit: Gu Miao
Editor in charge: Shen Lei