Will we be able to see the Chinese team at the 2022 World Cup?

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Will we be able to see the Chinese team at the 2022 World Cup? 2018-07-16 17:54:34 Dàyú Comics – 1,794 people participated, 682 comments. Tonight is the World Cup final. Dàyú will talk with everyone about Chinese football. Many people say that there’s nothing worth talking about regarding Chinese football; in one word: it’s terrible! Even today, parents who pass by the stadium take the opportunity to teach their children, but if you ask the fans who watched matches in the 80s and 90s, they will immediately refute you by saying, “Chinese football still has a fighting spirit!” ”They have played many exciting matches; they laughed with it and cried with it as well. Although they often scolded it too. China’s first attempt to qualify for the World Cup was in 1957. At that time, the Chinese football team was very loosely organized, with Nian Weisi as the core player who had returned from training in Hungary. There were no professional players at that time. For example, one of China’s right-wingers used a rickshaw for training, and his teammates would even help pool money to get him a rickshaw – everyone rushed to do this, so he could play as a right-winger at high speed. But it was this “haphazard group” that went to Jakarta, Indonesia, for their first match. The Indonesian coach was impressed by them because China had a strong sense of discipline and willpower in training. Although they failed to make it to the World Cup, many people in Asian football thought China had potential. Later, because playing against capitalist countries was not allowed, China refused to participate in World Cup qualifiers until 1981, when Su Yongshun became the head coach of the national team. During the group stage, China was in the same group as North Korea. At that time, East Asia was dominated by North Korea, and China hadn’t beaten them since 1966. North Korea relied on physical strength and played in a rough manner. Later, Su Yongshun started using more technical midfielders, and China defeated North Korea 4-2, shocking the Asian football world. After overcoming North Korea, China advanced to the final round of qualifiers. There were four teams in this round: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, New Zealand, and China. The format was home and away matches, and the top two teams would represent Asia at the World Cup. China’s first match was at home against New Zealand. China’s home games emphasized friendship above everything else. The Football Association thought that if everyone cheered for China at home, it would be unfair to them, so only a few spectators were allowed to cheer, and they had to cheer for both teams as well. As a result, there was complete silence when China launched attacks at home. New Zealand was also puzzled. Moreover, China had held a meeting beforehand, saying that since they were guests, they needed to show the spirit of a great nation and not easily hurt the opponents. So China played cautiously, hesitating to attack, and apologizing whenever their players touched those from New Zealand. Later, New Zealand drew with China and even injured China’s star player Rong Zhihang. But then China showed great fighting spirit and won 3-0 at home against Kuwait, which was ranked first in Asia. Rong Zhihang had 8 stitches in his calf and played wrapped in bandages. After scoring the first goal, the entire crowd stood up and applauded, shouting “Thank you, motherland! Thank you, people!” People from many cities across the country organized rallies, chanting “Revitalize China!” Later, China beat Saudi Arabia twice, both at home and away, accumulating 7 points with a goal difference of 5. It seemed that only New Zealand and Saudi Arabia were left competing. Logically, New Zealand wasn’t strong enough to beat Saudi Arabia, and even if they won, they would need a goal difference of 5 to tie with China. So China was confident it would be second and qualify for the World Cup. But then something unexpected happened: Saudi Arabia, knowing they couldn’t qualify, lost 0-5 to New Zealand, tying China in points and goal difference. A rematch was necessary. At that time, China’s team was on vacation, so they had to rush together to play the match. According to former CCTV host Liu Jianhong, FIFA really wanted China to participate in the World Cup. FIFA’s president at that time, the Brazilian Armando Marques, visited China and promised to send a Brazilian referee to help due to Saudi Arabia’s unfair behavior. Before the match, China’s coaching staff told the players that if they couldn’t score, they should fall inside the penalty area. But the Chinese players were too nervous and forgot about it. Only Rong Zhihang tried to fall once, but it didn’t work well. The referee couldn’t do much and had to award a penalty kick for raising the foot too high inside the penalty area. In the end, China lost to New Zealand and missed out on the World Cup. At the playoff match against New Zealand, there was a coach from the Beijing team named Zeng Xuelin in the audience. He thought China shouldn’t have lost that match, so he volunteered to become the new head coach. The tactics like “both wings attacking simultaneously” and coordinating defenders with forwards that are still used by China today were first proposed by him. He also recruited many talented domestic players, such as Tie Zha, the Chinese defensive midfielder, and Zhao Dayu, known as the “short-legged tiger.” With such a strong squad, Zeng Xuelin helped China finish as runners-up in the 1984 Asian Cup. To this day, being runners-up in the Asian Cup remains China’s best result in Asian competitions. In 1985, China tried to qualify for the World Cup again. According to the rules at that time, the group leader could advance to the next round. In the last match, China played at home against [opponent]. Everyone was overly optimistic, thinking a 2-goal win would be enough. This optimism spread throughout the Football Association. Zeng Xuelin suggested checking how China’s team performed against other teams. One of the Football Association officials said, “Meanwhile, China’s team wasn’t idle. Their head coach carefully noted every tactical change made by China, understanding its intentions. In the end, China lost 1-2 at home and failed to qualify for the World Cup again. After the match, many Chinese fans stayed at Workers’ Stadium, unable to leave. Some cried on the spot. Eventually, the Beijing Public Security Bureau sent 40 trucks and over a thousand police officers to rescue the national team. Those were the two closest times China came to qualifying for the World Cup before 2002. After that, China occasionally showed some fighting spirit, but it gradually moved further away from the World Cup. Fans could only joke, “Playing like this, I’d rather call myself a dog when watching the national team.” Then they would bark three times and continue watching the matches, hoping that China would turn things around