On the night of October 9, Wuhan Chegu Jiangda Women's Football Team welcomed the third round of AFC Champions League Group A in Wuhan. Facing the strong Hyundai Iron Red Angels, Wuhan Women's soccer team lost 0-2 in the home game, and unfortunately failed to lock the qualification of the group in advance. However, it seems no surprise that they still have the possibility of advancing in the table.
Wuhan Women's Football Team did not fare well in the AFC Champions League, despite the fact that Abu Dhabi Country Women's Football Team of the UAE lost 1-2 to Zhang Linyan in the first round of the tournament. Despite thrashing Sabah Malaysia 7-0 in the second round, Wuhan Women's Football Team only entered in third place after the first two rounds due to a 2-2 draw between Abu Dhabi and Hyundai Steel in the second round.
Before the match, Wuhan Women's Football Head Coach Chang Weiwei said that the team will be in the best condition after a short break in the face of the high intensity of the Asian Championship. Facing the powerful South Korean Hyundai Railway Women's Football Team, Chang Weiwei hoped that the team could continue the excellent performance of the last round and strive for victory. In another match in the third round of the same group, Abu Dhabi drew 2-2 with Sabah, so Wuhan women's soccer team must beat Hyundai Iron in order to get out in advance.
Compared to the previous game, Wuhan Women's Football Team's starting lineup had only one adjustment, Xie Ting replaced the injured Li Yanfei. At the beginning of the match, the visiting Hyundai Iron Women's Soccer Team took the initiative, grasped the ball, and constantly threatened Wuhan Women's Soccer Team. Wuhan Women's Football Team could only make sporadic counterattacks. In the 37th minute, Mbobo nearly broke the deadlock, but this was the closest they came to scoring a goal. However, Wuhan Women's soccer team made a mistake in the 43rd minute, allowing Yoko Tanaka to score a goal.
In the second half, Wuhan Women's Football Team was in desperate need of a goal, but the offense did not improve. Although Chang Weiwei replaced Song Fei, Dai Chen Ying, Huang Baoying and Li Tingting, the team still could not break the deadlock. In the 79th minute, Hyundai Steel extended the score through counterattack by foreigner Nguessa, 2-0, which was also the final score.
After three rounds of matches, Hyundai Steel and Abu Dhabi in Group A have already made an early exit, while Wuhan Women's Football Team is in the third place of the group with three points with one win and two losses.
Nevertheless, Wuhan Women's Football Team's journey to the AFC Championship is not over. According to the system of this season's Women's AFC Championship, the top two of the three groups and the best third place of the two groups will advance to the final eight knockout rounds. Currently, Wuhan women's soccer team is ranked third in Group A, holding four goal difference; Group B has only two rounds, the third and fourth place with one point are Bampton women's soccer team and Asian Scholars Academy women's soccer team; Group C also has only two rounds, the third and fourth place are the Blue Whale women's soccer team with goal difference of -4, and Orissa State with goal difference of -19, respectively. This means that in the final round of matches on the 12th, as long as the last two in Group B do not get a draw or a CB group.
Although there is still the possibility of promotion, but this women's football AFC Championship group stage trip for the five champion Wuhan women's football, is undoubtedly a shame. Before the AFC Champions League, Chang Weiwei had grand words. "We are the highest ranked team in Asia. I believe that as long as we do well, we can test our strengths and weaknesses through three matches, no matter what our opponents are." However, the Wuhan women's soccer team suffered a crushing defeat in the first round. After being pressed by Abu Dhabi, they were reversed 2-1 in the last three minutes, setting the stage for their failure to get out of the tournament early.
After the match, Chang Weiwei said, "Three consecutive matches in 10 days, the players play the Asian Championship after the league, the physical quality is greatly challenged. The road ahead is up to you to fight for it. If you make it to the semifinals, please believe that the team will undergo a metamorphosis in the knockout rounds. Although we lost this game, we will not be discouraged and Wuhan Women's Football will continue to move forward." According to the women's AFC Champions League schedule, the knockout rounds will be held in late March and late May next year. If the Wuhan women's soccer team makes it to the semifinals, there will still be nearly six months to adjust all aspects of the team.
