In the group stage duel with South Korea, the game was unexpectedly 1-0 in favor of Portugal due to their absence even though Portugal switched their starting lineup. Cristiano Ronaldo was supposed to be withdrawn, but accidentally gave an assist on the oval ball to help South Korea equalize.
In the group stage, the light of Asian soccer, Son, was absent due to injury, and almost all of the team was wiped out. In the end, South Korea won a thrilling three points with a 2-1 win over Spain. Even though Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0, they trailed in the standings due to a goal difference (4 points for Korea, 2 points for Uruguay). South Korea advanced to second place in the group with a four-point advantage over Uruguay.
The group stage came to an end with a record-breaking World Cup in Qatar. First up is the advancement of Australia, the first time that all three AFC teams, Japan and South Korea, have made it to the knockout rounds at the same time. According to espn, this is the first time in the history of the World Cup that more than two AFC teams and two non-AFC teams have made it out of the group. A total of five non-AFC teams have made it out of this year's World Cup: Australia, Japan, South Korea, Senegal, and Morocco.
Despite the fact that AFC and AFC were once considered weak teams in world soccer, the combined efforts of Asian and African fans and players have led to the gradual rise of their national soccer teams. Asian and African soccer are no longer fish out of water, but rivals to be reckoned with. With their own efforts, they have crossed the economic and racial divide and gradually narrowed the gap with the world's strongest teams. Such perseverance is indeed worthy of admiration.
In contrast, however, the performance of China's national soccer team, which in 2002 even managed to finish in the top 32 of the World Cup and compete with Japan, has been worrying. Today, however, the situation is very different. While Asian and African soccer has been improving, Chinese soccer has not only failed to improve, but also declined. Previously, the Chinese soccer team even lost to Vietnam, and the Beijing Guoan team lost to the county soccer team. Although Beijing Guoan is not the main force, it is enough to reflect the plight of the national soccer team.
It is worth mentioning that Li Tie, the former head coach of the men's national soccer team, was recently arrested on suspicion of earning as much as 168 million yuan in irregularities, and a number of players have also been involved in the fake match controversy. While Asian and African soccer continues to progress, Chinese soccer is mired in the quagmire of cheating and gambling. This environment really gives no hope.
This also can not help but remind people of the previous Provincial Games U15 soccer tournament, underage players had tried their best to win the championship, but in the coaching changes and the attitude of the players on defense exposed suspicion of match-fixing, triggering public anger. In front of these underage kids who want to play hard, where is the way out for Chinese soccer?
