Chapter 533 The opponent made a mistake, and Dragon Kingdom has an opportunity!
"I know that the current situation is very good for us, but we cannot let down our guard because our game has not yet started, and Syria has always been a difficult opponent."
A few days later, Dragons coach Lippi said this at a pre-match press conference held in Malacca, Malaysia.
This game is nominally the "home field" of Syria, but due to the complicated domestic situation, the game was also moved to Southeast Asia.
In fact, it is foreseeable that this game will become the home court of Dragon Kingdom. After all, there are quite a lot of Chinese in Malaysia.
The reason why Lippi said "the situation is good" is because the other two games of this group have already been played.
These are two results that are beneficial to the Dragon Kingdom.
First, the Iranian team defeated Uzbekistan 2:0 at home with goals from Azmoun and Taremi.
This score allowed the Iranian team to consolidate the first place in the group with 17 points with 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. It also fixed the score of third-ranked Uzbekistan at 12 points.
But even more important is another game.
The Qatar team, which ranked bottom in the group, was upset and defeated the invincible South Korean team 3:2 at home!
This makes the South Korean team still ranked second in the group, but its points are still unchanged at 13 points.
In this way, the opportunity for the "opponent to make a mistake" that the Dragon Kingdom team had been waiting for finally came.
The current Dragon Country team has 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses and has 10 points. If it can defeat Syria in tomorrow's "away" game, the points will reach 13 points.
Such points will not only surpass Uzbekistan, but will even surpass the South Korean team in one fell swoop due to the goal difference advantage, directly jumping to second place in the group!
And the second place in the group will be able to qualify directly from Group A!
Therefore, when these two results were reported to the Dragon Kingdom, the entire Dragon Kingdom fans were excited.
Everyone also believes that the Dragon National Team will definitely be able to seize this opportunity and then firmly hold the initiative to qualify in their own hands!
This is actually what the national football coaching staff represented by Pan Yi is worried about. The optimism of public opinion will also bring unnecessary pressure to the national football players.
Therefore, Lippi did the same as Pan Yi did during the team meeting, hoping that the outside world could relieve the pressure on the players.
"The defeats of Uzbekistan and South Korea gave us an opportunity, and in fact it also gave Syria an opportunity." Lippi continued:
"We have 10 points, while Syria has 8 points. If they can defeat us, their points will reach 11 points, and they will overtake us. So for Syria, this is also a matter of qualifying.
Great war."
"So we must not ignore Syria. Don't forget, just last October, when we played at our real home court, we lost to them with a score of 0:1."
"In Asia, there is actually no real super team. Whoever dares to underestimate their opponents will pay a heavy price. Qatar is also an example. After they have been eliminated early, who would think they can still beat South Korea? But
They just did it.”
"What I want to say is that facing such an opponent, we have no strength advantage at all. Even if we may get more support from fans in this game, we must go all out."
"I can understand the mood of media friends and fans. Please believe me, when I heard the news about these two games, I was as happy as you. But I must remain cautious."
"Every game strategy I make and all my work goals have only one goal, which is to do everything possible to defeat the opponent. I hope to bring the national team into the World Cup. But the previous three consecutive victories have various factors.
There are various factors, and we cannot be careless at all."
"Our players have been under tremendous pressure at the club. They have been playing in the league for several months, and some have even traveled back and forth between Europe and China. I can feel the mood in their hearts about fighting for their country, but I
We also hope that all media reporters and fans can understand and respect us."
"I have led many teams and have dealt with media reporters and fans from various countries. Praising and beating are always the best weapons of public opinion. Please forgive me for my offense, but I really think that in the past period of time,
Public opinion is praising us, which will cause us to bear a lot of unnecessary psychological pressure and burden."
"Thank you everyone for your understanding and support, but we must put all our minds into this game, rather than assuming that we have obtained three points. The more this happens, the more likely it is that the score will get away from us."
After what Lippi said, the media reporters at the scene also nodded.
They also feel that this period of time seems to be too optimistic, and they are even so optimistic that they forget that Syria is a team that once defeated the national football team at home in Dragon Kingdom.
Coupled with the fact that Qatar defeated South Korea, it will really not be a surprise to see anything happen in tomorrow's game.
"We will call on all major media and fans to view this game with a normal mind and avoid putting more pressure on the national football team!"
The reporter from "Football News" stood up and said.
This is also what the reporters present thought, and they also agreed.
As reporters who specialize in reporting on the national football team, they themselves are first and foremost fans of the national football team, and of course they also hope that the national football team will get better.
Since the head coach wants to reduce the pressure on the national football team, of course they will do it.
As for other minorities, some unscrupulous media or self-media that only look at traffic, let it go, as long as the mainstream media can make the right choice.
"I heard that some players are not in very good physical condition. Can Mr. Lippi reveal that?" a reporter from "Sports Weekly" asked.
This mainly refers to domestic players participating in the Chinese Super League.
Although the 12th round of the Chinese Super League ended 10 days ago, some major national football teams, such as Changzhou Hengtai, still participated in the next AFC Champions League match.
In the game against Kashima Antlers, several Choshu Kota players also suffered from injuries and were substituted midway.
So the media is also a little worried about this and wants to know how they are recovering in the past few days.
Lippi said that after the players returned to the team, the medical team has officially taken over and the situation is still OK. He hopes that the outside world can reduce unnecessary speculation and avoid panic.
"The current list of twenty-five people was drawn up by Pan Yi and I. Since they are all called into the national team, it means that their physical condition can meet the requirements of the competition. You don't have to worry about this."
"Of course, even minor injuries will have some impact on the players' competitive status, but we will, as always, select players who are in the best shape and meet the requirements of the national team as starters."
"I would like to reiterate that the correct mental state is more important than the physical state, so I hope everyone can try to give us a more relaxed and stress-free preparation and competition environment..."
——
Lippi in front was still dealing with reporters, while on the other side, Pan Yi was understanding the situation with the team's physical coach Claudio Gaudino.
"The situation is not particularly good."
The world's top physical fitness expert was worriedly talking to Pan Yi.
Pan Yi was mentally prepared for this.
The situation of the Chinese Super League itself is a bit more special than that of the European Leagues.
This "specialness" does not refer to the level of competition, but mainly to the vast territory of the Dragon Country. Chinese Super League teams often play an away game, which is similar to Western European teams flying to Russia and Ukraine.
Coupled with problems in domestic flights, urban traffic and other aspects, players' consumption of away games far exceeds that of away games in the Champions League, let alone domestic away games in major European leagues.
This does not include away games in the AFC Champions League.
It takes over 12 hours to fly from Guangzhou to Japan.
Halfway through the Chinese Super League, this objective situation still has a certain impact on the players' bodies.
Injuries that occur during games are actually often caused by these external factors.
When the national football team started training this time, people like Zheng Zhi, Mei Fang, Li Xuepeng, and Wu Xi all had some injuries.
In fact, this also includes Lin Liangming. Although he is not a Chinese Super League player, he also showed a certain degree of fatigue in the FA Cup final, otherwise he would not have been substituted early.
Obviously, these players have not improved particularly after a few days of rest, which will inevitably affect their competitive state.
"If you can't recover 100%, then don't force it." Pan Yi said.
"you mean……"
"We have other good players, no problem."
Pan Yi patted Gaudino on the shoulder and said with a smile.
Indeed, if the national football team suddenly loses five main players, it will have a certain impact on the team's strength.
But Pan Yi believes in the current national football team.
There is always a way!
Gaudino obviously still had some doubts: "But..."
Pan Yi means to simply use substitute players, but the problem is that the current situation of the national team is there, and the strength is just like this. Using substitutes will inevitably affect the performance of the national team.
More importantly, no one is sure whether the team will fall behind after replacing many key players.
You know, Syria is really not a soft persimmon!
While the two were talking, Lippi had also completed the press conference and walked out.
Pan Yi immediately went up to him with Gaudino:
"Come, let's study tomorrow's starting lineup..."
——
On the evening of June 13, Malaysia.
When Lippi and Pan Yi led all the players of the Dragons National Team to appear at the Hamjabat Stadium in Malacca, the audience burst into applause.
As everyone expected before the game, the stadium has become a sea of red, filled with people waving five-star red flags.
Today, it is actually the home stadium of the national football team!
In the stands, the fans of the Dragon Kingdom unfurled a banner and saw that it read "Play with style, no matter you win or lose, we support you!"
This also shows that the fans now understand the current situation of the national football team and are doing their best to relieve the pressure on the team!
This simple sentence moved Pan Yi who walked out of the tunnel and immediately applauded the fans at the scene.
This move naturally aroused cheers from the Dragon Kingdom fans.
It seems that the coaching staff's appeal is effective, and the fans are also using practical actions to show their support.
Judging from the expressions of the Dragon Kingdom players who are training on the field, they should have adjusted their mentality very well, and have not developed the burden of wanting to win and being afraid of losing because of the current better situation.
Of course, from a fan's perspective, today's final pre-match warm-up can still be seen to be somewhat different from usual.
That is on the side wearing the training vest that symbolizes the main force. In addition to the regular main players such as Wu Lei and Zhang Yuning, there are also figures such as Zhang Xizhe, Yu Hanchao and others.
This means that the starting lineup of the Dragon Country team will change today!
However, no matter what the outside world speculates about today's starting lineup, within the Dragon Kingdom team, it has been determined.
This morning, Pan Yi had already informed every player of the results of his discussions with Lippi.
Not only the starting lineup and substitute list, but also those international players who were not included in the match roster, he personally informed them.
This is a good habit, which is to let the players understand the role they have to play in the game as early as possible, and then quickly enter this role, instead of thinking about it and thinking about it.
When the pre-match warm-up was over and everyone returned to the locker room, Lippi asked Pan Yi to give a brief lecture as usual.
Pan Yi said: "Some people say that our team can only rely on one lineup to conquer the world. I don't agree."
"Every one of you is carefully selected by the coaching staff. As long as you enter the national team, everyone should use his energy to help the team."
"That's it today. Some of the veteran players are injured and not in very good condition, so you need to step forward at this time!"
"You don't need to have any pressure. I believe in my own eyes, and I never doubt you. I will never make mistakes. You are qualified to wear this jersey and compete for the national team."
Hearing what Pan Yi said, the starting players looked at each other one after another, with a hint of determination in their eyes, especially those players who were not originally regular starters.
Pan Yi continued:
"Today we are theoretically away from home, but countless fans who support us have turned this place into our home court, and we will fight for them!"
"Although Syria defeated us in the last game, our recent good form will definitely make them afraid."
"I said that they are not easy opponents to deal with, but their overall strength is indeed not as strong as South Korea or Iran. We cannot be careless against them, but there is no need to be afraid!"
"As long as we can perform at a normal level, as long as we can firmly control the ball and the rhythm, believe me, we can win this game, and you will surprise everyone."
When he said this, Pan Yi looked at Huang Bowen and Zhang Xizhe, who were sitting close to each other. In this game, the two will start together in the defensive midfielder position.
"I can tell you with absolute certainty that after the opening, Syria will definitely be defensive, but we must take the initiative. We must use the offensive to create opportunities in the opening. The two of you must pay attention to controlling the rhythm and not just blindly attack.
Greedy, do you understand?" Pan Yi asked.
Huang Bowen and Zhang Xizhe both nodded in unison.
Zheng Zhi was unable to play, and Pan Yi suggested that Lippi simply replace Zhang Xizhe directly and form a double-technical midfielder with Huang Bowen to strengthen the control of the midfield.
"Third Brother" Hao Junmin, who came off the bench to score a free kick in the last game against Iran, played a midfielder-like position in front of them.
"Syria's two wings are not strong in offensive ability, so in this game, I allowed our full-backs to participate more actively in the frontcourt attack, but we have to play smarter, especially paying attention to the opponent's
Fight back.”
The two starting full-backs Wang Shenchao and Zhang Linpeng nodded in unison, which was what they had been told before the game.
"Everyone had better be fully prepared for tough battles, especially to minimize unnecessary physical contact with the opponent's defensive players. Our advantage is passing control and penetration, do you understand what I mean?"
"Understood!" the players responded in unison.
At the end of the sentence, Pan Yi suddenly remembered something and walked over and patted Wang Shenchao on the shoulder: "You're not wearing a necklace, are you? If you are, take it off quickly!"
——
"The game is about to start! Hello, audience friends, I am He Wei, and I will explain this game to you today together with Director Zhang Luzhang."
"This is the eighth round of the top 12 matches of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Syria faces the Dragons at home. However, due to well-known reasons, the venue for today's game is in neutral Malaysia."
"But the fans of Dragon Country are so awesome that they have turned this place into the home stadium of Dragon Country. The entire stadium is full of Dragon Country fans, and only a few people holding Syrian flags can be seen."
"We have now got the national team's starting lineup for this game. I believe fans who are familiar with the national football team will be a little surprised after reading it, because there are some changes in the national team's starting lineup for this game compared to before."
"The goalkeeper is still Zeng Cheng, the defense is Wang Shenchao, Deng Hanwen, Feng Xiaoting and Zhang Linpeng. The midfielder is still three players, but it is Hao Junmin, Zhang Xizhe and Huang Bowen. Lin Liangming in the frontcourt attack combination also does not play.
, Wu Lei starts on the left, Zhang Yuning starts in the middle, and Yu Hanchao starts on the right."
"Such a formation is indeed very surprising. Captain Zheng Zhi, defensive linemen Jiang Zhipeng, Mei Fang and others did not play. But considering that before the game, someone had mentioned that the national football team currently has some injuries.
The situation may be a helpless move by the coaching staff. Coach Zhang, what do you think?"
Zhang Lu: "Although five adjustments have been made to the starting lineup, I don't think we need to worry about it."
"Whether it's Lippi or Pan Yi, they are both experienced world-class coaches. Such a lineup must have been carefully considered by them."
"And in terms of formation, the main framework of 4-3-3 has not changed, and offensive players like Zhang Xizhe and Hao Junmin are also used in the midfield. This basically shows that the coaching staff
The attitude in this game is to attack."
"This idea is right. Now that Uzbekistan and South Korea have fallen apart, it is a good opportunity for us to catch up, so we have to attack and win to get three points! Although Lippi and Pan Yi have been emphasizing reducing the pressure on the national football team, now
We secretly say here but they can’t hear us, hehe..."
He Wei: "Haha, Director Zhang is really humorous."
"However, such a formation also has advantages, that is, it makes it difficult for the opponent to predict, and it is impossible to carry out targeted defense."
"We can see through the camera that the Syrian head coach seems to be a little surprised, because the starting lineup is a little different from what he expected."
"Okay, the players from both sides have already stood in their own half, and the game is about to start."
"This national team has given us enough surprises in recent games, so will their changes in the starting lineup today also bring us surprises?"