With longing, Chinese fans were eagerly awaiting, but witnessed the brutal reality of the national football team's 0-3 defeat to Australia in the opening match of the World Preliminary Round 12. Disappointment spread in the hearts of fans, the city gates three times lost, such a defeat is painful.
Despite the obvious disparity in strength, the magnitude of the national soccer team's defeat is still unbelievable. Why did the national team coached by Li Tie suffer such a bitter blow? This deserves our deep thoughts.
GRAPHIC: National Football League suffers three-goal defeat to Australia in all-sport graphic
Over-optimism and a facepalm.
Australia was only the second ranked team in the group while China was in the fourth rank. In the Asian 40, Australia easily advanced with 8 consecutive wins, while China stumbled and struggled to get out of the tournament. In terms of international rankings, player value and individual ability, the national soccer team is clearly behind its opponents.
However, on the eve of the match, both within the national soccer team and the fans were filled with optimism that they could beat Australia in their first match. This blind optimism eventually led to the fiasco.
Li Tie, as the new head coach, lacks the same experience as Lippi. In an interview, he said, "Football is round and there are many examples of weak winning against strong. We went to the Top 12 to prove that we can win games."
Photo: Li Tie on the sidelines, All Sports Photo
Perhaps inspired by him, Wu Lei, Wei Shihao, Yu Dabao and other international players also said that they are not afraid of their opponents and have a chance to win. Many fans also believe that the national football team can force a draw or even win against Australia.
However, they seem to have forgotten that the national soccer team has always ended up in defeat in the key battles for the right to qualify for the World Cup, especially when facing Asian powerhouses.
A segment circulating on the Internet reflects this mentality: how powerful is the national soccer team? Skipper Li Tie was a former Premier League Everton midfield bruiser, Wu Lei is a star striker for the Spaniards, Aixon is the all-time top scorer in China's top flight, Alan is a former UEFA Cup Golden Boot, and there's also former Bundesliga star Artemisia Artemisin, former Bundesliga star Wolfsburg star Zhang Xizhe, former Bundesliga star Werder Bremen star Zhang Yuning, former Portuguese Premier League star Wei Shihao, and former La Liga giants Atletico de Madrid star Xu Xin! ...... By that algorithm, the national soccer team is also an Asian powerhouse!
The national football team seems to be a bit blindly optimistic before the match, says the all-sports picture
The consequence of blind optimism is that it is easy to be broken down. If you can set your mind right and fight your opponents with a more low-key and pragmatic mentality, it will not be easy for Australia to score three goals against China in this encounter.
Abandonment of Naturalization, Doubtful
Li Tie's formation and use of personnel seems to have been a mystery. In the first match of the 12-team tournament, he suddenly changed his formation, replacing Jiang Guangtai and Zhang Linpeng with Jiang Guangtai and Yu Dabao in the backline. However, Yu Dabao's performance on the defensive end was not ideal and the first goal conceded was related to him. At the beginning of the second half, Li Tie replaced Yu Dabao to correct himself.
Even more confusing is Li Tie's use of several naturalized players. In the match, among the starting 11 of the national football team, there were only two naturalized players, striker Ackerson and central defender Jiang Guangtai, while Alan and Luo Guofu were pressed on the bench.
Photo: Eckerson in action, All Sports Photo
In the 90-minute game, Li Tie used all five substitutions, but only did not replace Alan and Luo Guofu. Fans are anxious to see: the score is behind, why not let the naturalized players go up to charge? They are capable of fighting alone, so they should at least give it a try, right?
Since they are naturalized, it is natural to recognize their abilities. Why do you want to hide them all the way to the end? In fact, including the previous Top 40, these naturalized players are not treated well by Li Tie, never played as a starter, playing time is very little. Is their strength really not as good as Wu Xinghan, Yin Hongbo and others, not even a minute of opportunity?
These expensive naturalized players, is not just used as the team's "mascot" "cheerleaders"? Li Tie's stubborn idea of employing people, should not be changed? (Xinmin Evening News reporter Guan Yin)
Reflections after the "opening black"
In the national football game before the start, with the results of another game, to many Chinese fans like playing a dose of "cardiac injection": convergence of many big names in Europe, "Asia's first" said the Japanese team, the first game actually lost 0-1 to Oman!
Photo: Japan 0-1 defeat to Oman, web photo
So, the crowd was in a frenzy - if Oman, in the fifth slot, could beat Japan, why couldn't China beat Australia?
However, reality is harsher than imagination. The reason why a cold goal becomes a cold goal is precisely because it doesn't happen very often. The 0-3 defeat of the national soccer team tells everyone that the final decision on the soccer field is still strength.
After the loss, some of the originally optimistic "prophets" turned to a change in the wind, pessimistic cries: the Chinese team is finished, out of the game, out of luck!
It should be said that, from the current situation, the national football team's prospects for qualifying are not optimistic. The first two battles against Australia, Japan's two strongest rivals, the probability of two consecutive losses, the mentality is prone to collapse; Oman team "cold" after defeating the Japanese team, but also has become a competitor of the national football team; and the Japanese team is bound to die with the Chinese team, or two consecutive defeats, I'm afraid that the coach will have to be dismissed.
But when you think about it, there's no need to be prematurely pessimistic. Looking at the whole picture, even if the Chinese team loses the first two games, it does not hinder the fight for the top three rankings in the group. After all, there are 10 rounds in the group stage, and the most important thing is to win the most deserving matches against Oman and Vietnam.
Fear is afraid, did not play before the over-inflated arrogance, kicked after the loss and disheartened stumble, this aspect of the national football team is a foretaste of the first round of the 1997 Top Ten, the Chinese team in the first round of the 2-0 lead under the good situation, was the Iranian team 4 goals, and finally 2-4 loss. This loss is a big blow to the strong Chinese team at that time, so much so that it seriously affects the morale afterward. In fact, in retrospect, if they had played the later matches seriously, the Chinese team would have had a good chance to advance.
Therefore, after the "open black", the most important thing is to give the players a good "psychological massage". Don't conclude that there is no hope just because of one loss. What's more, losing to a strong Australian team is normal.
The Chinese team still has to have pursuit and goals. At least, the next can lose, do not lose miserably; can not get out of the line, but also do not bottom of the group, right?
