Bahrain's wild lumbering action put Zhang Yuning in a difficult position. However, he got better and better as the battle progressed, delivering a pinpoint pass to his teammates.
In the last two matches, Zhang Yuning has faced the challenge of Dutch Eredivisie names such as Souttar, Jackson Irvine, Izzys and Hilgers without fail. With the limited individual strength of the Bahraini players, the national football team has been forced to give some respect to their opponents strategically and make targeted tactical deployments. Tarajic not only strengthened his defense against Zhang Yuning, but also asked his midfielders to clamp down closely, not hesitating to commit fouls to cut off his connection with his teammates in an attempt to shake his mentality.
Zhang Yuning has made a qualitative leap from substitute to starter, and now the core of the front line, shouldering the burden of the national football team's impact on the World Cup.
In the last Top 12, Zhang Yuning was behind Ackerson in the starting order, and even when he started, he was only a substitute for Wu Lei. After the arrival of the Ivankovic era, Zhang Yuning still had to start from the bench. Alan, Fernando and Wu Lei were injured one after another before Zhang Yuning was able to make his debut. Not only did he have to create chances for his teammates, but he also had to shoulder the burden of being a center forward and front man, enduring confrontations and injuries. However, Zhang Yuning never backed down and proved his worth with two golden goals as the offensive end of the national football team was on fire.
A powerful center forward and tactical link, Zhang Yuning has rarely played a full game since the last Top 12 tournament. In the match against Indonesia, he took a month off and didn't play until the last minute of regular time. In the recent three Chinese Super League matches, his playing time was only 30 minutes, so it was reasonable for him to play a full game this time. In the second half, he continued to charge forward and eventually scored a valuable goal.
Against Bahrain's defense, the national defense did not suffer too much exertion, and Zhang Yuning was able to focus on attacking. Before VAR intervened, the defense of the national football team loosened up, and Zhu Chenjie and Jiang Shenglong kept creating chances for the opponents. At key moments, Zhang Yuning's several charges relieved the pressure on the backfield and helped the national soccer team get through the difficult times. Ivankovic builds his team around good players, the offense is simple and direct, and Zhang Yuning became the key to win.
Ivankovic has vigorously promoted young players, such as Byeloram, whose style is very different from that of their predecessors. The national soccer team lacked the opportunity to show off on the stage of the 18-team tournament and had to deal with their opponents by strengthening their running and confrontation. This move is extremely physically demanding and carries a high risk of injury. Ivankovic was reluctant to overload key players so as not to affect the tactical arrangements. In the final moments of the game, four Guoan players took the field, and Ivankovic hoped to support Zhang Yuning's "residual blood" state, which was rewarded with a golden goal.
With the return of Zhu Chenjie, the average age of the national soccer team dropped to 27.6 years old, lower than that of Bahrain (28.7 years old), which was called "youth storm". This is the first time the national football team has used a younger team than their opponents. Wang Haijian assisted Zhang Yuning to complete the shutout, an exciting moment that will be remembered by the fans. The goal not only buried the three minutes of black history, but also marked the initial success of the new and old generation of the national football team, and also proved the feasibility of Ivanovic's "chimerical" team building idea.
The national team has a short training period, limited selection, lack of tacit understanding between players, and tactical quality that is difficult to compare with clubs. If you build a team with the giant players of the national league, you can often get twice the result with half the effort. Brazil in Ferreira's era, Italy in Sacchi's era, and Spain creating the myth of Tiki-Taka are successful cases. In the last Top 12, both coaches centered their offense on Wu Lei, who became the top scorer. The only victory of the national football team came from the "port connection" between Stanley Wang and Wu Lei. Now that Zhang Yuning's central position has been secured, the opportunity to make history has arrived.
