Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

The idea that Chinese national football team fans don't want Japan to lose is just a joke.

Even if the Japanese team loses, everyone will still be happy, because it means that the Japanese team will likely miss the World Cup.

While witnessing the Chinese national team qualify for the World Cup on home soil is a memorable experience for many fans, seeing Japan fail to qualify would be equally tempting for them.

Of course, the best scenario would be for the Japanese team not to die yet, but for the Chinese team to send them away in the final round when they play them away.

But that's too far in the past, there are two games in between!
The most urgent task for the Chinese team is to secure victory in the next two matches.

On March 25, after a brief period of adjustment at the training base in Guangzhou, the fully-staffed Chinese team boarded a chartered plane and departed for Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan is not too far from China, only three time zones apart, so the time difference has a relatively small impact.

Compared to the impact of time difference, the climate in Tashkent has a significantly greater impact on the Chinese team members.

Before the team departed, the temperature in Guangzhou, where the national football team was training, had already risen to around 20 degrees Celsius on average, with daytime highs reaching 28 degrees Celsius.

At the same time, the temperature in Tashkent is much lower, with daytime highs of 13-18 degrees Celsius, which is actually quite comfortable.

But the temperature drops sharply to below 5 degrees Celsius at night, which makes it a bit cold.

With such a huge temperature difference, it's easy to catch a cold if you're not careful.

Adding to the tension, when the Chinese national football team arrived, the local flu was raging, which made the team leader and the logistics team extremely nervous. They required the players to stay in the hotel and not to go out at will.

At this crucial time, it's absolutely essential to avoid catching a cold. A single cold could cause a player to miss this match, and they'd likely also miss the next game against Bahrain.

Although a cold is not a serious illness, it can have a significant negative impact on an athlete's health. Playing while sick can not only harm their own health but also easily cause trouble for the team or even create problems.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, when the team doctor finds that someone in the team has a cold, the player will usually be prohibited from playing. So for the national team, the flu is definitely the number one enemy. It is no exaggeration to say that a bout of the flu can directly wipe out an entire team.

"It's just a common cold. With our excellent physical condition, how could we possibly catch it so easily? The team leaders are making a mountain out of a molehill!"

Gao Lin was very unhappy about being 'confined' in the hotel.

Gao Lin had long heard that Central Asian countries were famous for their beautiful women, so he had been looking forward to this match for a long time.

But a flu outbreak shattered his dream; he couldn't even leave his hotel room, so where could he go to see beautiful women?

"Don't make any rash promises. If you catch a cold after going out, you'll regret it!"

Lin Feng wasn't particularly interested in going out to see beautiful women; no matter how beautiful they were, could they compare to the woman at home?

Since dating Liu Yifei, Lin Feng's aesthetic standards have been raised, and ordinary beauties are no longer able to catch his eye.

……

Although they have almost no hope of advancing directly, the Uzbek team did not tank and still took this match very seriously.

Before the match, they collected a lot of information about the Chinese team, and carefully studied the team's tactics and the individual characteristics of the players.

Although on paper, the Chinese team, with its large number of overseas-trained players including Ballon d'Or winner Lin Feng, is undoubtedly stronger than the Uzbek team.

But fighting for honor, they still haven't given up on the idea of ​​taking points from the Chinese team, or even defeating them.

Because of the outstanding performance of the Chinese team in Asia in recent years, they have become like the big boss of the Asian region, making them the target of other teams.

This Chinese team has very distinct characteristics: a strong midfield, a powerful attack, and a strong ability to control the game.

Trying to outmaneuver a team like this in midfield doesn't seem like a wise choice, because even Japan, who are also known for their midfield prowess, couldn't beat China and were thrashed 7-0.
The Uzbekistan team is far weaker than the Japanese team. If they continue to use this tactic, they will probably suffer an even worse defeat.

Therefore, their targeted tactics were to abandon midfield battles and possession, adopt a low-position defense and zonal pressing strategy, and launch counter-attacks after winning possession.

The Chinese team used the common 4-4-2 formation, with Gao Lin and Han Peng as the forward pairings.

The midfield is a diamond formation, with Lin Feng leading the attack as the attacking midfielder, Hao Junmin and Chen Tao on the left and right flanks respectively, and Zheng Zhi anchoring the defensive midfield position.

As for the defense, that's where the biggest changes were made to the national team's starting lineup today.

At right-back, Xu Yunlong replaced Sun Jihai in the starting lineup.

In terms of center-backs, due to captain Li Weifeng's suspension due to accumulated yellow cards, the starting center-back pairing for the national team in this match is Feng Xiaoting and Cao Yang, while the left-back will still be the familiar Sun Xiang.

Besides the players on the field, reporters and fans also frequently focused their attention on the national team's substitutes' bench.

Since the opponents in these two matches were not particularly strong, Zhu Guanghu called up many young players for this national team training camp.

Yu Dabao, who is 21 years old this year, has just transferred to Portuguese league team Guimarães.

There is also Zhang Linpeng, who will turn 20 in one month, as a backup right-back for Inter Milan.

But the most attention-grabbing player is Wu Lei, who plays for Barcelona B and comes from the La Masia youth academy. He is only 17 years old!

Of these three, apart from Zhang Linpeng, the other two are making their first appearance on the national team roster.

They are also highly regarded as rising stars, especially Wu Lei.

Because of his similar height to Messi, their similar positions, and their shared background in the La Masia youth academy.

Although he has never had the opportunity to play for Barcelona's first team, Wu Lei has already attracted widespread attention thanks to his outstanding performances at La Masia and Barcelona B.

Many people call him the Chinese version of Messi. This claim was not first made by domestic fans, but by Spanish media.

Although his talent is far from Messi's, the fact that he has earned this title speaks volumes about his potential.

I've heard that Wu Lei has been a prodigy since childhood, consistently outperforming older players in teams at all levels. No wonder he caught the eye of Barcelona!

[Ahem, what you said is indeed true, but Wu Lei wasn't actively recruited by Barcelona. Lin Feng brought him to Barcelona for a trial. Barcelona liked him but not Zhang Linpeng, so Zhang Linpeng later went to Inter Milan.]

[Zhang Linpeng chose to go to Inter Milan himself, right? With the defensive quality in La Liga, what can a defender learn there? Serie A is a paradise for defenders!] [Alright, alright, why argue about this nonsense? Let's discuss whether they'll get a chance to play!]

[The forwards might have a chance; if the national team takes an early, decisive lead, given Coach Zhu's personality, he'll definitely let them go on and experience the atmosphere of the game. But expecting them to score on their debut is unrealistic!]

[Actually, I'm quite looking forward to Zhang Linpeng playing. Sun Jihai and Xu Yunlong are both getting old, and the national team urgently needs to add fresh blood to the right-back position. If Zhang Linpeng can withstand the test of international competitions and prove his strength, then the national team won't have to worry about the right-back position for the next ten years or so!]

[The right-back position is resolved, but what about the center-back position? Among the new generation, besides Feng Xiaoting, there's no one else worth watching!]

Amidst the discussions of the fans, the match between China and Uzbekistan began.

Zhu Guanghu had just shaken hands with the opposing head coach and returned to the coaching bench. After glancing at the opponent's formation, he couldn't help but frown.

"Five defenders?"

The opponent is determined to stick to their defense, so it looks like the Chinese team is in for a tough battle today.

But he wasn't panicked. He had seen this kind of scene before. Now, when playing against some weaker teams in Asia, Zhu Guanghu would assume that the opponent would park the bus.

Because the opponent gave up on contesting the midfield, the Chinese national team quickly took control of the game after the start of the match.

Under the guidance of Lin Feng and others, the Chinese national football team began to try various methods to break through the opponent's defenses.

However, the Uzbek players are stronger than the Chinese national team's opponent in the last match, Japan, in terms of both physical attributes and height.

The tactics that the Chinese national football team used to deal with the Japanese team were ineffective against them.

After the start of the game, the Chinese national team tried to pass the ball to Gao Lin and Han Peng in the penalty area many times, allowing them to shoot directly or head the ball, but with little effect. Instead, after advancing into the opponent's 30-meter zone, the ball carrier was subjected to high-frequency defensive pressure, and the pressure they faced suddenly increased significantly.

It was also thanks to Lin Feng, who organized the attack for the Chinese national team, that he managed to protect the ball and safely pass it away from the sudden pressure from the opponents, preventing them from winning it back.

But through these probing attempts, he also figured out his opponent's tactics.

In short, the Uzbek team knew they couldn't compete with the Chinese team's midfield, so they deliberately chose to tighten their formation.

Expand the defensive width as much as possible to prevent the Chinese team from exploiting the flanks.

In midfield, they narrowed their defensive range and increased the density of defensive players in certain areas.

By using dense positioning to compress the Chinese team's passing and control space, they forced the Chinese players organizing the attack to push forward so that they could get closer to their teammates on the front line.

However, once the ball carrier moves forward and enters their pressing zone, they will immediately be subjected to high-frequency pressing from all directions and multiple players, and the ball possession will be changed in a very short time, which will be used as an opportunity to launch a counterattack.

This tactic might be surprisingly effective against most teams because Uzbekistan's lax approach to midfielding can lull opposing midfielders into a false sense of security. Once they enter the danger zone, the sudden increase in defensive intensity can catch them off guard, making it easy for them to lose possession and launch counter-attacks.

"Uzbekistan's defense is very targeted; to use an idiom, it's like luring the snake out of its hole!"

"Yes, they cleverly let our players get close before they tackled, which greatly increased their success rate. In the last few minutes, the Chinese team was almost unable to organize any effective attacks from midfield, which shows that the opponent's defensive tactics have been effective."

The comments from the two commentators made many fans put aside their underestimation of Uzbekistan. Although the Uzbekistan team is not as strong as the Chinese team, it seems that winning this game will not be so easy.

The opponent's tactics are indeed quite impressive; everyone knows that the Chinese team has a strong midfield.

But we can't find a good way to restrict it!

If they start pressing the Chinese players with the ball in midfield, then the 11 players on the field will not be enough. It is almost impossible for 11 players to completely cover a space that is half the size of a football field, and there will inevitably be a lot of space.

On the contrary, if too many players are committed to the midfield, the Chinese team will seize the opportunity to break through the first line of defense, and the back line and even the goal will be threatened by the opponent immediately.

Uzbekistan's solution may not be entirely correct, but it is indeed a possible approach.

Lin Feng remained calm despite his opponent's targeted approach.

He remained calm and composed, probing the opponent's defense with passes, trying to find a breakthrough.

The opponent's strategy is no different from parking the bus; if you had to say, the only difference might be the target they're targeting!

This tactic is clearly aimed at the midfield, while parking the bus is usually used to restrict the opponent's forwards.

In short, the strategy involves packing players into specific areas and relying on numerical superiority to increase defensive strength and stop the opponent's attack.

The best way to deal with this kind of defense is to stretch out the opponent's formation, reduce the density of their defensive personnel, and thus create more space for attack.

Several techniques for breaking through a dense defense, such as aerial bombardment, long-range shots, and set pieces, are basically based on this principle.

With aerial threat Han Peng on the field, Lin Feng's first attempt was to head the ball through crosses from both flanks to break through the opponent's goal.

However, Uzbekistan's five-defender formation effectively protected their two flanks. With defenders interfering, neither Xu Yunlong nor Sun Xiang could find a good opportunity to cross the ball.

If you force a cross while facing defenders, the quality of the cross will be questionable due to interference, making it difficult to find your own striker.

Seeing that the full-backs were not performing well, Lin Feng had no choice but to take over himself.

In the 22nd minute, after combining with Hao Junmin, he delivered a cross from the right flank, accurately finding Han Peng lurking in the penalty area.

Disappointingly, Han Peng failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Although he managed to get the ball to the target, he headed it wide under pressure from the opposing defender.

Although Han Peng is a dominant aerial threat, he doesn't actually have a height advantage, especially when facing Uzbekistan's number 5, Ismailov, where he couldn't gain any advantage at all.

The other person is 190 cm tall and weighs 90 kg.

Han Peng is only 1.85 meters tall and weighs only 77 kilograms.

Whether in terms of height or weight, they are not in the same league as each other.

It's already quite an achievement that he managed to get to the ball at all; to actually execute a high-quality header is incredibly difficult, as not everyone is a heading expert like Cristiano Ronaldo. (End of Chapter)