China's Women's Soccer Team's Challenging Path
In the duel between China and South Korea on February 6, 2022, Xiao Yuyi received a second pass from Wang Shanshan in the 93rd minute and struck the final blow to make the score 3-2. Shui Qingxia on the sidelines was so excited that she had tears in her eyes and raised her arms.
Xiao Yuyi ran to the sidelines and embraced Shui Qingxia, who was her "miracle worker" at that moment.
However, beauty is always fleeting.
When the scoreboard at Xiamen Egret Stadium was finally set at 1-1, Shui Qingxia stood at the side of the stadium for a long time. With tears in her eyes, she gazed at the stadium, full of reluctance.
This time, in the life and death match between China and South Korea, there was no miracle without Xiao Yuyi's kill, and China's women's soccer team failed to qualify for the Olympics for the second time in its history, as it did not qualify for Paris.
Bitterness is the reality of the day.
Shui Qingxia and her leadership of the Chinese women's football team, after all three competitions in 2023, the World Cup group stage exit, the Asian Games bronze medal, the Olympic Games to stop the qualifying rounds, in the words of the last CFA, should be called "poor".
When it comes to the future, Shui Qingxia didn't hold back, saying, "I don't think it's easy to say, but I hope China's women's soccer team gets better and better."
The results are here, the reality is more cruel. The next two years of Chinese women's football will not have a big game to play, and the evaluation of water Qingxia, has long begun to diverge, "good" sound gradually disappeared, "dismissal" sound clamor, "water to the channel" has also begun to become "this coach a little water".
① Before taking over the Chinese women's football team, Shui Qingxia is just a "mountain man". 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese women's football team in three battles 1 draw 2 losses, wildly conceded 17 goals, Jia Xiuquan dismissed, leaving a mess.
Shui Qingxia was entrusted with the task of leading the Olympic team to win the gold medal of the Games "as a matter of course". Before that, the outside world does not know much about Shui Qingxia, and even many people do not know who she is.
Players era, she helped the Chinese women's soccer team won the Asian Championship many times, won two Asian Games Championship, won two National Games Championship, retired as a coach to lead the Shanghai women's soccer team to get a Grand Slam, she is a champion player, but also a champion coach, but in 1999 the "clanging roses" in the U.S. World Cup blossomed that time, without her.
As the interim head coach, with the women's Olympic team during the Games, Shui Qingxia has expressed the hope that in the future to become the head coach of the Chinese women's football team: "Dreams everyone has, I hope to be the head coach of the women's national team, to lead the team to show on the world stage."
Winning the gold medal, Shui Qingxia successfully completed her task as interim head coach, and it made sense for her to take over the Chinese women's soccer team, but China's national soccer team has never been much of a rule of thumb.
After that, the CFA released an announcement on its official website to compete for the Chinese women's soccer head coach, and Shui Qingxia did not sign up.
It is understood that the CFA senior tend to let Zhao Junzhe as women's football coach, the competition is just a form, and water Qingxia do not want to be the "running" people.
After the competition's overtures were completed and the results were delayed, the CFA later issued a direct announcement:
"CFA Chairman's Office will synthesize the preliminary women's national team head coach selection and recruitment work, in a wide range of opinions on the basis of overall consideration and careful study decided that the current Shanghai women's soccer team head coach Shui Qingxia as the head coach of the Chinese women's soccer team."
Did not apply, did not bid for the water Qingxia, so dramatically "on the throne".
② Challenges come with the 2022 Women's Asian Cup, leaving Shui Qingxia only two months to prepare for the task: to bring the Chinese women's soccer team back on track.
With the Olympic joint team to play the Games, Shui Qingxia and the Chinese women's football team has had a preliminary friction, coupled with many years of previous experience in coaching women's football, experienced, she quickly got up to speed.
She recalls the players with the best ability and form among the old, the young and the middle-aged, sets things right, straightens things out, lowers the profile of the set, and then, thickens it up.
After the Tokyo Olympics blind folded, the outside world on the Chinese women's soccer team's expectations are not high, which also gave Shui Qingxia a lot of space to play.
In the group stage of the Asian Cup, China's women's soccer team made it out of the tournament with a 4-0 win over Chinese Taipei and a 7-0 win over Iran, and turned back Vietnam 3-1 in the round of 8.
In the semi-final, facing the favorite Japanese women's football team, with the tenacious defense, Chinese women's football team in the field disadvantage, 1-1 will drag the game into overtime, in the case of overtime again fell behind, in the 119th minute, Wang Shanshan scored a perfect level, drag the game into the penalty kicks, and ultimately 4-3 victory over the Japanese team, the first to advance into the final.
Tokyo Olympics Chinese women's soccer lost face, Shui Qingxia led the way to get back.
Final against South Korea, 0-2 behind in the first half, water Qingxia decisive adjustment, removed Wang Frost, replaced Zhang Linyan, the situation reversed, Zhang Linyan first made a penalty kick Tang Jiali scored, and then Tang Jiali assisted Zhang Linyan equalized, the last moments of injury time, Wang Shanshan assisted the same substitutes Xiao Yuyi scored a killer goal, 3-2, the Chinese women's soccer team after 16 years to win the Asian Cup Championship again.
Players era, Shui Qingxia 5 times in the Asian Cup, 5 times to win the championship, when the head coach, or the championship, and even more impressive is that she did not lose a game in the Asian Cup.
Shui Qingxia wept with joy.
Her formation, clinical command and substitution adjustments are impeccable, and the tenacious, hard-working, never-give-up women's soccer team she has created is once again resounding.
She said, "Since the representative of the national team definitely have to do 100 percent, the ball can be lost, but people can not lose, the spirit of soccer should be like this."
Flowers, applause, pursuit, prizes, endorsements, commercial activities, come one after another, water Qingxia become "God on the mountain".
Champion, Shui Qingxia and the Chinese women's soccer team lived a "good life". Public opinion, all in praise; awards, all kinds of take; sponsorship, flying.
There is no denying that this is something that Shui Qingxia and the Chinese women's soccer team have fought for themselves and that they deserve.
In the promotion of the CFA and the support of Shui Qingxia, many women's international soccer players began to "go out", stay in the ocean to improve, to prepare for the future.
Such a "good day" had more than 1 year, during which the Chinese women's football team only participated in the East Asia Cup held in Japan in July 2022, water Qingxia led the team to 1 win and 2 draws to win the first runner-up, although it did not win again in Japan and South Korea, but also did not lose.
The new test starts in July 2023, when the Chinese women's soccer team will have to participate in three competitions back-to-back, the Women's World Cup, the Hangzhou Asian Games, and the Paris Olympic Qualifiers.
This time left a lot of time for Shui Qingxia to prepare, the time of the domestic women's soccer tournament also made way for the national team to prepare for the war, the Chinese women's soccer team three times to go abroad to train, and a number of training sessions, the performance of the players who stayed in the world is also not bad, Zhang Lynn Yan got the Rui Chao MVP, everything is looking forward to the good, ready to go.
Sponsors are also optimistic about the Chinese women's soccer team, and a few days before they left for Australia, there were new sponsors signing up for the Chinese women's soccer team, and Shui Qingxia had to bring a few of the women's soccer players to the conference.
The outside world is very optimistic, water Qingxia pressure is not small, she does not want to say more, because soccer still have to rely on strength to speak, the coach still have to prove with the results.
World Cup group stage first match Denmark, China women's football 89th minute lost the ball, was killed; the second match Haiti, from the 29th minute to start playing 1 less Chinese women's football, relying on Zhang Lynn Yan made penalty kicks, Wang Frost scored, 1-0 win, retained the hope of the line; the last battle, the Asian champions against the European champions, 1-6, China women's football rout, the group out of the tournament.
The key battle - the battle of life and death - the train station, the Chinese women's soccer team went on the Chinese men's soccer team's "old road".
Voices questioning Shui Qingxia are starting to surface, especially her use of players who stayed in the country, and the question of what the Chinese women's soccer team actually practiced during such a long preparation period.
Xiao Yuyi, who scored a shutout against South Korea in the Asian Cup and didn't get a minute of playing time in the World Cup, tweeted, "I would have turned my heart to the bright moon..." , putting the issue on the table.
No one responded, and more than a month later, the Chinese women's soccer team's Asian Games roster was announced, and Xiao Yuyi failed to make the cut.
Nay, the moon shines in the ditch.
④ After 1-6 England, Wang Frost choked up and said, "We are not a particularly good an example, I hope that the future of the children can play more exciting soccer, I hope that the domestic coaches, can really go to cultivate more children who can play football, so that they will not be so woeful in the future in the game on behalf of the national team."
Her soul-crushing line has even stormed the hot seat:
"What's the point of being out of the lineup?"
After returning from Australia, Shui Qingxia said of the gap between the women's soccer team and Japan and Australia, "In fact, we were also making progress before the World Cup, including pressing, running and all of this, just the progress may not be as big as others." .
Not much time was left for Shui Qingxia to adjust.
Hangzhou Asian Games, the competition at home, Shui Qingxia and the Chinese women's soccer team has only one goal - the championship.
The good news is that Australia is not participating, Japan is sending three teams, and the bad news is that the North Korean women's soccer team is participating.
In the group stage, the Chinese women's soccer team chopped and sliced, 16-0 Mongolia, 6-0 Uzbekistan, easily out of the line, 4-0 Thailand in the round of 8, and once again easily advanced.
Semi-final, the opponent is the Japanese women's soccer team three, the result of the first half 1-4 behind, the second half of the Chinese women's soccer team to chase 2 goals, the final 3-4, do not qualify for the final.
After the match, Shui Qingxia said, "The score of 3-4 was a little bit worse, but that little bit says a lot."
In the third-place game on Oct. 6, the Chinese women's soccer team played Uzbekistan again, 7-0, and got the bronze medal.
After a disastrous exit from the World Cup and a loss to Japan's third team at the Asian Games, there are more and more questions about Shui Qingxia, but she has one last chance to prove it, saying, "I need to calm down."
⑤ Song Kai, the new president of the CFA, who is in charge of the national team, said of Chinese women's soccer after taking office, "Women's soccer, there is still a chance."
And when communicating with some of the media, Song Kai made it clear: "China's women's soccer team must get out of the Olympic qualifiers."
Paris Olympics women's soccer qualifier Asian region, the second stage of the competition, the Chinese women's soccer team drew to the "death group" group B, the same group rivals North Korea, South Korea and Thailand, the three groups directly out of the line, the three groups of the best results of the group 2 out of the line.
Only 20 days were left for Shui Qingxia to adjust.
Before the match, Shui Qingxia said, "Our opponents in this group are all very strong and their strengths are not divided. Our team will unite together and play well to the best of our ability, and I thank our fans and friends for their concern for the Chinese women's soccer team, and I hope we can play at our own level."
As a result of the first battle, the Chinese women's soccer team lost 1-2 to North Korea, the same as in the World Cup, forced to the end of the road; the second battle 3-0 Thailand, to retain hope; the final round of 1-1 South Korea, hand in hand with South Korea, together with the exit.
In the post-match conference, Shui Qingxia said she was sorry the match was not taken.
During the Olympic preliminaries, there were more voices questioning Shui Qingxia, and the sound of "dismissal" grew louder and louder.
Her use of stay-at-home players, her use of goalkeepers, her use of Wang Shanshan, her scheduling, her adjustments to the team, much questioned, on which she won the Asian Cup before, now Sweetie has become Mrs. Bull.
The "God on the mountain" will one day have to come down.
In all three competitions, Shui Qingxia and the Chinese women's soccer team failed to accomplish the set goals.
World Cup target 8, the result of the group out; Asian Games target gold medal, the result of the bronze medal; Olympic Games target line, the result of the qualifying round stop.
Perhaps this is the real strength of the Chinese women's football team, the 2022 championship is just a water Qingxia and the Asian Cup double BUFF superimposed out of the "flashback".
Song Kai watched the Chinese women's soccer team lose to North Korea in Xiamen, and then he traveled to Doha to "break the ice" and receive the 2022 Asia's Best Women's Soccer Coach award for Shui Qingxia.
Song Kai arrived in Beijing on the afternoon of Nov. 1, and instead of traveling to the site to watch the women's soccer game, he watched the entire game live.
It is said that Song Kai has a very clear understanding of the problems and dilemmas faced by Chinese women's soccer, and the CFA will join hands with representatives from all aspects of women's soccer to conduct in-depth research and communication, and discuss the future of Chinese women's soccer.
It's just that in this future, I don't know if there will be any more Shui Qingxia.
