May 19, for most people, is just a page on the calendar. However, for Chinese soccer, this day is engraved in the memory. 36 years ago, on this day, the Chinese soccer team in a critical battle for the line, the home to 1-2 against Hong Kong, and the 1986 Mexico World Cup lost. This defeat triggered a furor over the "5-19 Incident". Today, 36 years later, the Chinese national soccer team is once again on the road, assembling at the Taimei Xianggu Li Hotel in Suzhou to prepare for the final push in the second half of the 40-team World Qualifying Tournament.
Looking back to 1985, China's soccer team launched its third assault on the World Cup final round under the aura of Asian Cup runners-up. At that time, the Chinese team had a strong lineup, with stars such as Gu Guangming, Zhao Dayu and Jia Xiuquan. In the qualifiers, China drew 0-0 in their first match against Hong Kong, then easily beat Macau 4-0 and 6-0, and thrashed Brunei 8-0 and 4-0. As long as they drew their final match against Hong Kong, they would be out of the group. However, it was in the May 19th match that China conceded the first goal in the 16th minute, and despite Li Hui's equalizer, Hong Kong scored again in the 60th minute, resulting in a 1-2, rain-soaked defeat that shattered China's dream of qualifying from the group.
Time flies, 36 years have passed, the Chinese men's soccer team in addition to the success of the 2001 World Qualifying Tournament, the rest of the efforts to impact the World Cup ended in failure. On the evening of May 19 this year, the Chinese team once again embarked on the World Cup journey. Before the epidemic, the Chinese team in the standings behind the Syrian team 8 points, in order to get out of the group, can only hope to become the best results of the four groups of one of the second. Unlike 36 years ago, when they drew to get out of the tournament, the national soccer team is in a much tougher situation this time around. Coupled with the impact of the North Korean men's soccer team withdrawing from the tournament, the national soccer team will have to win all of their matches in order to control their destiny and ensure that they make it out of the tournament.
After winning the right to host the Group A tournament system, the Chinese team started a series of preparations. Chen Xuyuan, chairman of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), revealed in an interview that the CFA has set up high bonuses for the national football team, with the players receiving 3 million dollars for every match won, and the whole team will receive 12 million dollars for winning all four matches. In addition, the players will also receive 100,000 yuan subsidy per person during the training period, in order to stimulate the players' morale and help the team to get out of the forty-four rounds of the tournament.
Chen Xuyuan said that the Chinese team concentrated on preparation in advance is not afraid of the opponent, but because Li Tie took over, the team was affected by the epidemic, many training lineup is not complete, the coaching team's technical and tactical exercises can not be fully implemented. Therefore, it is necessary to grind the main lineup in advance to prepare for the next game. In addition, early concentration is also conducive to the players to better adapt to the game psychologically and physiologically.
On the evening of May 19th, China's men's national soccer team departed from Shanghai and arrived at the Taimei Xiangguli Hotel in Suzhou after a nearly 2-hour drive. Wu Lei, after completing the entry test, also arrived at the national team's residence that night to meet with his teammates. So far, the national football team training personnel all arrived, the whole team will go all out to prepare for May 30th and Guam team of the world preliminaries.
Wu Lei was on his way back to his home country after a ten-hour journey with his wife and child. At the airport, photos of Wu Lei holding his daughter with his eyes closed circulated online. Wu Lei's backpack was emblazoned with the Chinese team logo, highlighting his loyalty to the national team.
On the evening of May 18, Wu Lei's family arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. After completing the nucleic acid test and observing for one day, Wu Lei arrived at Suzhou Taimei Xiangguli Hotel on the evening of May 19th to meet with the national football team. As for why Wu Lei did not complete the "14+7" isolation observation, Chen Xuyuan said that the domestic hosting of international matches are in a strict closed-loop, participating teams do not need to be isolated for a long time. And Wu Lei has previously been infected with new crown pneumonia, the possibility of infection is further reduced.
It is worth mentioning that all members of the Chinese team were vaccinated with the new crown vaccine, while the rival Maldives team was also fully vaccinated. In the context of the serious epidemic, the preparation of the national football team is particularly important.
