Chapter 1049 Quarterfinals
Although the Chinese Football Association has refuted the rumor that "if the Chinese team does not qualify for the group stage, Dong Jianhai will be fired" that has been widely circulated on the Internet, it said that there is no such thing.
However, fans are still more willing to believe the revelations from "insiders" on the Internet.
But this also puts them into the same ambivalence as Hu Lai’s mother:
Should they hope that the Chinese team will be eliminated from the Asian Cup group, or should they hope to qualify from the group?
The Chinese team qualified for the group stage and Dong Jianhai succeeded in renewing his life, which they did not want to see.
However, the Chinese team was eliminated from the group stage, and the undefeated team in the World Cup became a laughing stock, which is also something they do not want to see.
Shi Wuyuan, one of the parties involved in various rumors, also issued a personal statement through the "Goal" website at this time.
In the statement, he thanked the Chinese fans for their love and support for him, but he also said that after leading the team to the World Cup, he deeply felt his lack of personal ability. Next, he will turn his energy to recharging and improving his learning.
The implication is "I'm not interested in coaching the national team again, so don't bother me."
The words were very tactful, but everyone understood the meaning clearly.
This disappointed those who still expected Shi Wuyin to come out to put out the fire.
Some people even said some drastic things when they were extremely disappointed.
Of course, such people are quickly dismissed by the majority of real Chinese fans. After all, no one knows whether those idiots who said, "It's natural to cherish feathers, but I didn't expect that Director Shi would also value his personal reputation more than the future of Chinese football, which is a bit disappointing" are they real fans or just black men who set the pace? .
As long as real fans still have brains, they know that they can't let such idiots represent themselves.
This is just like giving up your seat on a bus or subway. I didn't sit in the special seat for the elderly, the young, the sick, the disabled and pregnant women. That was out of sympathy, so it was natural not to give in. I couldn't engage in moral kidnapping.
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Under such circumstances, in the last round of the group stage, the Chinese team faced the Philippine team, which had almost all of its members naturalized. After 90 minutes of fierce battle, they finally won the match with a score of 2:1.
Both goals for the Chinese team were scored by Hu Lai, who also led the Asian Cup scorer list with four goals.
With Hu Lai's two goals, the Chinese team won the life-and-death battle and also qualified for the group stage.
However, because they lost to Iraq in the first round, the Chinese team was not as good as Iraq in terms of points and could only qualify as second in the group.
This allowed them to encounter the powerful Japanese team in the quarter-finals.
No introduction is needed, just the three words "Japan Team" are enough to explain how desperate this quarter-finals is.
If the Chinese team, which is not at its best, wants to compete with the Japanese team, which has the strongest lineup, it will almost certainly lose!
This result also highlights the fatality of the Chinese team's unexpected loss to Iraq in the first group match - if the Chinese team can get first place in the group, their opponent in the quarter-finals will be the Thai team.
Although the Thai team is also a strong team in Southeast Asian football, it is obviously much easier to deal with than the Japanese team.
In addition to the stronger opponents, the situation of the Chinese team is also worrying.
Let’s not talk about conceding the ball again during the game.
Team captain Yao Huasheng lost his balance and fell to the ground after competing for a header with his opponent. He landed on his right shoulder, causing his shoulder to become dislocated. At that time, Dong Jianhai had used up three substitutions, so Yao Huasheng could only deal with it briefly, fix his shoulder with a bandage and continue fighting.
It is still unclear whether he can make it to the quarter-finals with Japan three days later.
In addition to Yao Huasheng, Xia Xiaoyu was also injured during the game. It was precisely because of his injury that Dong Jianhai used the last substitution spot, leaving Yao Huasheng unable to be replaced and had to fight with injuries.
However, Xia Xiaoyu's condition is better. After the examination after the game, it was only a minor injury and will not affect his participation in the game against the Japanese team.
It is Yao Huasheng's injury that touches people's hearts more. After all, the Chinese team's defense is not very good to begin with. If the main center back can't play again, who knows how the Japanese team will be beaten by then.
There is no Yao Huasheng or Lin Zhiyuan on the defense line. It is difficult for Wang Guangwei to support him alone.
And judging from this Asian Cup, although training in high-level leagues can also improve his level, Wang Guangwei still obviously lacks game training-after moving to Eldrea, he only played in two games. Got the chance to come on as a substitute. Once was the Italian Cup and once was the league.
There are too few competition opportunities, and it is difficult for him to maintain a good enough condition just for training.
Defenders and goalkeepers are two very special positions. Unless the main players are injured or the lineup is rotated, it is difficult to get a chance to play. However, Eldrea's two main center back partners performed stably and were not injured. In addition, non-rich teams like Eldrea did not need to rotate the lineup, so Wang Guangwei had few opportunities to play. Not much.
Before the Asian Cup, both Chinese fans, Chinese football managers, and the media were relatively optimistic. It is believed that the strength of Chinese players has been greatly improved after training abroad, and the overall strength of the Chinese team will also be greatly improved, and is fully capable of competing with strong teams such as Japan, South Korea, and Iran.
Even if Wang Guangwei rarely plays in the club, but he has received high-level training, it will still be no problem - Luo Kai did not have many playing opportunities in his first season in Veronica, and his performance in the World Cup was also very good ?
The results prove that training is training and the game is a game. The two are still incomparable, they are the same thing...
The only good news is that the Chinese team's frontcourt offensive combination is in good shape - Hu Lai's two goals were assisted by Chen Xingyi and Luo Kai respectively.
Except for the lackluster performance in the first game and six goals scored in the remaining two group matches, the Chinese team's offensive firepower has not dropped much.
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When Yao Huasheng knocked on the door of his room, Dong Jianhai looked very surprised: "Why don't you rest in the room, Dayao?"
"Coach Dong, I don't want to miss the game against the Japanese team." Yao Huasheng said straight to the point.
"Oh, but your injury doesn't allow it..." Dong Jianhai pointed at Yao Huasheng's shoulder and shook his head.
He was still wearing a bandage, and you could see a bulge on his shoulder, which was a misplaced acromioclavicular joint.
The slightest movement of the shoulder would cause severe pain, making it impossible to compete under such conditions.
"I can block it." Yao Huasheng had obviously already thought of a countermeasure.
"Dayao, this is not a simple dislocation, it is a third-degree acromioclavicular dislocation, acromioclavicular ligament tear and strain. What you need to do is to rest and recuperate, and wait for the swelling to subside before having surgery. Otherwise, there will be sequelae... "Dong Jianhai disagreed.
After the game against the Philippines, Yao Huasheng underwent a detailed examination, and the final conclusion made Dong Jianhai and Hong Renjie have big heads:
Third-degree acromioclavicular dislocation of the right shoulder requires surgical treatment, and the recovery period is usually three months.
This means that Yao Huasheng will also bid farewell to the Asian Cup early.
"I will have surgery after the Asian Cup, Director Dong. Besides, even if I have to have surgery, I can't do it now. Do I still have to wait for the swelling to subside? It will take at least a week for the swelling to subside. So I will play the next game The competition will not affect my surgery." Yao Huasheng's attitude was very determined.
Dong Jianhai frowned, his expression hesitant.
Seeing this, Yao Huasheng further said: "Coach Dong, I know we did not do well in this Asian Cup. As the captain, I have the responsibility. Our opponent in the quarter-finals is the Japanese team. If it is other opponents, forget it, but Japan team..."
At this point, his tone changed: "I have been waiting for this game since the Asian Cup final in 2004!"
During the 2004 Asian Cup final, Yao Huasheng was only 11 years old and did not participate in that Asian Cup as a player.
But in that final, he watched the whole game from the sidelines as a caddy.
That was a day of shame for Chinese football, and he will never forget it.
Dong Jianhai just lowered his head and remained silent, still not making a statement.
"When I finished playing in the World Cup, I thought about applying the experience accumulated in the World Cup to the Asian Cup and bringing young people along with me. But I didn't expect it to end up like this. Our defense became the biggest problem. …”
Yao Huasheng smiled self-deprecatingly, and then said: "I hope Director Dong can give me another chance to make up for my mistakes. This is my last Asian Cup, and I really don't want to say goodbye like this."
Dong Jianhai sighed: "Forget it! Just kick if you want!"
"Thank you, Director Dong, and I hope you won't tell others about my injury."
Dong Jianhai stared at Yao Huasheng deeply, and then nodded: "Okay, I asked Yuan Bo not to tell anyone."
Yuan Bo is the team’s medical team leader. Because the test results just came out not long ago, only Yuan Bo, Dong Jianhai and team leader Hong Renjie know the specific condition of Yao Huasheng's injury. The outside world is still just speculating.
After receiving the promise, Yao Huasheng finally smiled again on his face and expressed his gratitude to Dong Jianhai again.
Dong Jianhai waved his hand in a bad mood and kicked Yao Huasheng out: "Go back and rest quickly!" (End of Chapter)