In a cold sweat, he was sent to the round of 18! Impacting the 2026 World Cup, the national football team is still alive

Southern Metropolis Daily

2024-06-11 22:44Posted on the official account of Guangdong Southern Metropolis Daily

Dressed in a cold sweat and crying to qualify, the Chinese men's football team is still on the way to the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico! On the evening of June 11, Beijing time, the national football team lost 0-1 to the South Korean team in the final round of the round of 36 in the Asian region of the World Preliminary Championships, but because the Thai team then won 3-1 Singapore team at home, the Chinese team finally beat the Thai team to advance to the top 18 of the Asian region of the World Preliminary Tournament by virtue of their mutual records.

Ivan Ho bets on newcomers

Many years later, when it comes to the experience of coaching the Chinese team, Croatian Ivankovic should not only think of the night when the national football team lost to South Korea by one goal away, but also the two games in which the team was forced to draw by Singapore with a two-goal lead and was pressed by Thailand at home to almost not even get a point. With only two points in the game where he missed a penalty and was expected to score six points, Ivan led the Chinese team to the most difficult road.

The head coach of the Chinese team, Ivankovic (first from the right), before the game. Xinhua News Agency

Before this round, the national football team is still 1 point away from ensuring qualification. If the national football team can't take a point away from Seoul, then the Thai team's home game against Singapore team, which kicks off an hour and a half late, will determine the final fate of the national football team.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference against South Korea, Ivan said: "Ready to surprise. ”

The "surprise" is reflected in the starting list, a battle of life and death, Ivan bets on the newcomer. Compared with the last game against the Thai team, the national football team made 4 changes in the starters, Yang Zexiang made his debut, Bai Helamu and Xie Wenneng started for the first time, and Xu Haoyang started in a row. These four players have either 0 or 1 international A-level appearances before. And Wei Shihao, who performed well in the last game, and Wu Lei, who came back from the ban, both sat on the bench. In addition to the big changes in the arrangement, Ivan also gave up his preferred midfield diamond position in the formation, and Jiang Shenglong made a cameo appearance in the back and partnered with Wang Shangyuan. It is worth mentioning that the back high Tianyi, who was replaced after the opening 29 minutes of the last game, did not even enter the 23-man squad for this game.

The starters of the Chinese team pose for a group photo before the game. Xinhua News Agency

The South Korean team, which said before the game that it would go all out to win, also played its best in this game, with Son Heung-min, Lee Gang-in, Hwang Hee-chan, and Lee Jae-seong all making their debuts.

Iron bucket formation guards out of "regret defeat"

"A draw is qualifying", this is a game that tests the defensive ability of the Chinese team. In the first 30 minutes, the Chinese team basically did not pass half the half. Judging from technical statistics, the Chinese team's possession rate in the first 30 minutes was less than 20%. The first chance of the Chinese team in the first half came in the 35th minute, Xu Haoyang took a free kick cross, and Jiang Shenglong grabbed the header and hit the goal. Eight minutes later, the Chinese team won the second chance to shoot in the first half, Xu Haoyang's long pass was transferred, Fernando's cross from the left was cleared, and Liu Yang's follow-up volley was blocked. Although it was very hard, the Chinese team walked into the locker room with a score of 0-0.

Son Heung-min made a "3-0" gesture. IC picture

There was also an interlude before the end of the first half, with Son making a "3-0" gesture to the stands of the Chinese fans in the final stages. On November 21 last year, when the national football team lost 0-3 at home to the South Korean team, Son Xingmin made a shut up gesture to the Chinese fans after scoring the first goal, and Wu Lei immediately stepped forward to negotiate with him.

But at halftime, according to Chinese and South Korean media reports at the scene, there were Chinese fans at the scene who scolded Son Xingmin, so he made a "3-0" gesture.

After the game, Son Heung-min also mentioned this gesture. 'I can't accept being booed at home and I didn't do anything worthy of being booed. I also think it's disrespectful to Korean fans. As a Korean player, I want to show something and I think it was very important that we played a good game and got the win. I feel like I handled it well and didn't let it affect me. ”

On November 21 last year, Sun Xingmin made a gesture to shut up. Photo by Nandu reporter Li Zhanjun

After the change of sides, the Chinese team maintained the same defensive density and intensity as in the first half. After a long attack, the South Korean team took the lead in making adjustments in the 60th minute. As soon as the substitution was completed, the Chinese team's defense was lost, Son Xingmin knocked in the penalty area, and Li Gangren inserted a push shot at the back point.

Chinese player Yang Zexiang (first from right) fights during the game. Xinhua News Agency

The meaningless Chinese team gave it a go after 8 minutes, with Wu Lei and Zhang Yuning coming off the bench to replace Fernando and the injured Xie Wenneng. After that, Huang Zhengyu, Fang Hao and Li Lei also appeared one after another.

The average South Korean team and the Chinese team, which fought well, kept the score 1-0 until the end. It is worth mentioning that after the game, Sun Xingmin hugged and comforted Wang Dalei, and the lonely Wang Dalei in the camera was secretly wiping his tears.

Sun Xingmin hugged and comforted Wang Dalei. IC picture

After the game, the coach of the Chinese team, Ivan, said that he was very satisfied with the hard work of the players on the field, "there was no slack in 90 minutes, thank them for their efforts". Since whether or not to qualify has to wait for the result of another game, this is a kind of torment for the Chinese team. A reporter asked Ivan if he had thought about the current situation when he took office, and how did this situation come about? He replied: "It is a huge challenge to take over the Chinese team, I have always thought that the Chinese team has not achieved good results in recent years but has a strong team, if it is well organized, it can come to the top 10 in Asia and play a wonderful game." Of course, to achieve good goals, we need better selection of materials and more training competitions. ”

After the game, the players of the Chinese team looked lonely. IC picture

The fate of the national football team is determined by others

After the Chinese team's game, Chinese fans became Singapore fans. In the end, Thailand won 3-1 Singapore at home. In the case of the same goal difference, the Chinese team dominated the Thai team by virtue of their mutual record and advanced to the top 18 of the Asian zone of the World Preliminary Tournament by virtue of their mutual record.

In the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, there will be 6 direct places in the Asian qualifiers, 2 direct places in the Asian play-offs, and 1 place in the intercontinental play-offs. In the round of 18, the 18 teams will be divided into 3 groups (6 teams each) for a home-and-away round-robin match, with the top two teams in each group (6 teams in total) qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. In addition, the third and fourth places in the three groups (6 teams in total) will be divided into two groups (3 teams each) for a single round-robin showdown for the Asian play-offs. The winners of the two groups will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, and the two second-placed teams will play a play-off to determine the winner, with the winner representing Asia in the World Cup intercontinental play-offs.

View original image 385K

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•