Zhang Yuning suffered heavy defeats in Bahrain's violent logjam, but showed impressive improvement as the battle progressed, repeatedly creating scoring opportunities for his teammates.
In the last two duels, Zhang Yuning has been no slouch against Dutch Eredivisie names such as Souttar and Jackson Irvine, who are at the top of their game. The Bahraini players' individual skills are limited, and the national soccer team needs to be respected strategically and deployed with precision tactically. Tarajić not only arranged for the center backs to play tight defense, but also asked the midfielders to quickly clamp down, not hesitating to commit fouls to cut off the connection between the national football center forward and his teammates, and attempted to influence Zhang Yuning's mentality through various means.
Zhang Yuning has transformed from a substitute player to the core of the team, shouldering the heavy responsibility of the national football team to impact the World Cup.
Although Zhang Yuning started after Ackerson in the last Top 12, he still had to start from the bench in the Ivankovic era. With the injuries to Alan, Fernando and Wu Lei, Zhang Yuning went from behind the scenes to the front of the stage, not only to pave the way for his teammates, but also to take on the dual role of center forward and front man, enduring huge confrontations and injuries. However, Zhang Yuning never flinched in front of the difficulties, proved his value with two goals, and the offensive end of the national football team was on fire.
Zhang Yuning is not only a powerful center forward, but also a key link in the tactics.
Since the last edition of the Top 12, Zhang Yuning has rarely been able to play a full game. In the match against Indonesia, he was rested for a month and only played until the end of regular time. In his last three CSL matches, he played just 30 minutes, and this time he played the full game again, and he still charged full throttle in the second half, eventually scoring a valuable goal.
Bahrain's kicking style did not deplete the national defense and Zhang Yuning was able to focus on attack. Before VAR intervened, the defense of the national football team loosened up as Zhu Chenjie and Jiang Shenglong kept giving the opponents easy chances to attack. At key moments, Zhang Yuning's multiple charges relieved the pressure on the backfield and helped the national soccer team survive. Ivankovic builds his team around good players, the offense is simple and direct, and Zhang Yuning became the key to win.
Ivankovic has heavily promoted young players, such as Byeloram, whose style is very different from their predecessors. The national soccer team failed to show their strength in the 18-team tournament and could only fight against their opponents by strengthening their running and confrontation, which is extremely demanding in terms of physical fitness and a high risk of injuries. Ivankovic doesn't want to overplay key players as substitutions can affect tactics. In the last minute of the game, four Guoan players appeared in front of the field, Ivankovic hoped that this way to support Zhang Yuning's "blood" state, and Zhang Yuning also returned the coach's trust with a golden goal.
With the return of Zhu Chenjie, the average age of the national soccer players dropped to 27.6 years old, lower than that of Bahrain (28.7 years old), which was called a "youthful storm". It was the first time the national soccer team played with a younger lineup than their opponents. Wang Haijian helped Zhang Yuning to a thrilling finish that will be remembered by the fans. This goal not only put an end to the embarrassing history of the black three minutes, but also marked the initial success of the new and old generation of the national football team, and also proved the feasibility of Ivankovic's "chimerical" team building idea.
The national team has a short training period, limited selection, lack of understanding between players, and tactical quality that is difficult to compare to clubs. If we can build a team with giant players from the national league, we can often get twice the result with half the effort. Brazil under Ferreira (1958), Italy in the Sacchi era and Spain who created the Tiki-Taka myth are examples of success. 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, Zhang Yuning's centerpiece is at the right time, and the opportunity to make history has arrived.
