Hope refreshed
China reaches final round of World Cup Asian zone qualifiers
I truly am very satisfied with my players’ performance today, and now I want to show my respect to Marcello Lippi. I really want to thank him for his years of help to me and the squad.”
Team China’s surprising victory over Syria on Tuesday delivered another dose of feel-good factor for the fans. Booking a ticket to next year’s World Cup finals, however, remains a mammoth task for Li Tie’s men.
Spearheaded by star striker Wu Lei, a 3-1 triumph over Syria in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, secured Team China a spot in the final round of Asian zone qualifiers.
With the eight group winners and four best second-place finishers progressing, Syria had already sealed its spot before Tuesday’s clash as Group A’s top team. China finished three points back in second place thanks to an encouraging run of four straight victories since May 30.
“This was not an easy match. I’m very satisfied with the strong fighting spirit and persistence that our players showed on the pitch. We controlled most of the match and created many chances, although I’d be happier with a 2-0,” head coach Li told the post-match media conference.
“We still don’t have many opportunities to play more matches. I hope we can arrange more quality friendlies with stronger teams to prepare for the coming qualifiers. The team can only grow by participating in high-quality matches and playing against stronger rivals in the final round of the Asian qualifiers.”
Kicking off in September, the final phase will feature 12 teams: Syria, Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, China, Oman, Iraq, Vietnam, and Lebanon. Group E winner Qatar was assured of its spot at the 2022 World Cup finals as host.
According to Xinhua, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will stage the draw for the final phase of qualification on July 1, with the 12 teams separated into six pots. While Japan and Iran are in the first pot as the top seeds, China joins the UAE in the fourth pot — illustrating the difficult task that awaits Li’s men.
There’s no doubt, though, that Team China’s performances have improved under Li. The former China international and Everton midin
fielder took the reins in early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and disrupted his early plans for the job.
With the international schedule wiped out by the pandemic, Li was limited to training camps and friendlies against domestic club teams.
Last month’s 7-0 victory over Guam in front of 30,000 spectators in Suzhou, Jiangsu province was his first official match in charge. Li had been looking forward to more matches with the home fans in attendance until COVID-19 cases in the Syria and Maldives squads saw the games moved to Sharjah.
However, China overcame the
UAE’s searing temperatures, as well as pandemic-related logistical issues, to win all three games in Sharjah, beating the Philippines 2-0 and the Maldives 5-0 before stunning Syria.
“I’m very touched and I think we should give our wholehearted support to Li Tie,” said former Chinese international Fan Zhiyi in a recent online interview. “Li Tie took over the Chinese squad at a very difficult time. Even the most renowned international coaches could probably not have helped us. Chinese soccer’s future should depend on our own efforts.”
Li’s predecessor was Italian World Cup winner Marcello Lippi, who
resigned from his second spell at the helm following a 2-1 qualifying defeat to Syria in 2019.
Li had worked with Lippi as an assistant coach, and acknowledged the Italian’s influence and input after Tuesday’s triumph.
“I truly am very satisfied with my players’ performance today, and now I want to show my respect to Marcello Lippi. I really want to thank him for his years of help to me and the squad,” said Li.
“This trip to West Asia has been very tough for our staff. We never experienced anything (sudden relocation of matches) like this before. For the team, this was truly a huge test. But we all made it through.”
Wu proves key
China’s naturalized players have been recruited to raise the quality of the squad, however the foreignborn contingent were on this occasion upstaged by homegrown stars — most notably Wu.
Wu netted eight times in the eight-game Group A campaign. Five of those goals, as well as two assists, came in the team’s recent fourmatch win streak as Wu proved pivotal both as a link man and scorer.
The 29-year-old had rejoined Team China in May, with many question marks hanging over his ability following a tough last year in Spain when he was mostly consigned to the bench with Espanyol the second division.
The former Shanghai Port forward also faced struggles off the pitch in Spain when he and his wife tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020.
Pandemic-related travel restrictions meant Wu missed all Team China’s training camps in 2020, adding to concerns that he could struggle to gel with Li’s squad when he finally did return.
Tuesday’s performance, however, emphatically proved the doubters wrong.
“All the players in the national team are the best Chinese players. No matter who we play against, no matter if we have home advantage or not, and no matter how tough the situation is, we need to finish the match the best way we can. We are a team, not a collection of individuals,” Wu said after the victory over the Philippines.
Head coach Li reckons Wu’s time in Europe has made him a better player.
“Wu’s progress and growth since moving to Spain is very obvious. Yet still he finds himself under attack from some fans and media. Will they be happy if Wu quits and returns to the Chinese Super League?” Li said on Tuesday.
“We need to encourage players like Wu. It’s very tough for them to forge a career in a foreign country… If we have 20 players who play in the major European leagues, what’s there left for us to worry about?”
Li Tie, Team China head coach on his Italian predecessor