Is attacking football better for China?
One point after two World Cup qualifiers stirs debate on coach’s tactics
Facing Asia’s top two teams in a week, China grabbed their first and only point in the third round of the World Cup Asian qualification, but questions have been raised on whether China should play more attacking football instead of going on the defensive.
The games against South Korea and Iran saw China scoring only two goals, as some fans chanted that they want Team Dragon to move forward rather than line up for defense.
After scoring two goals from three goals down in their game against South Korea, China showed that it has shrugged off the label of perennial underachievers.
But the team do need to make some improvements quickly if they want to stay competitive in the qualification series.
Though Iran’s head coach Carlos Queiroz has called China the favorites of the qualification stage, China – who came in as third-round qualifiers at the last minute – are the de facto underdogs when facing Asia’s top two teams.
Defense works out
However, underdogs trying a full attack against genuine favorites always becomes a bitter pill to swallow. And in a championship, including its qualification stage, a good result is more important than playing beautiful football.
Take this summer’s European Championship as an example.
Antonio Conte’s Italy were short of an attacking midfielder, and they have relied on the Juventus defense quartet to weather attacks from star-studded Belgium and 2012 champions Spain, later seeing them off through counterattacks.
It was also defense that raised the quality of eventual champions Portugal, who were close to being stunned by minnows Hungary in the group stage.
Super League to blame?
There is a reason for Gao’s choice of defense. With injuries piling up for the beleaguered national team, some players’ conflicts with their clubs in the Chinese Super League (CSL) have resulted in Gao’s players lacking match fitness.
Gao said he had to use five defenders instead of four, a mainstream formation in the CSL, and rely on making offensive moves through counterattacks.
Defender Ren Hang of Jiangsu Suning was left out in the cold when the top flight got into full swing after Ren was reportedly rejected pending a contract extension deal.
Fullback Zhao Mingjian, the Man of the Match against Iran, was suspended by his club Shandong Luneng due to his “negative attitude” in a league match.
Though recent years have seen a huge investment in Chinese football, Chinese clubs are spending big money on foreign stars.
In a league where foreigners dominate attacking, only two Chinese players are in the top-10 scorers’ list.
At the same time, it is also cultivating foreign defenders – three of South Korea’s starting defenders in the game against China play in the CSL.
Front line hopes
Guangzhou Evergrande forward Gao Lin, who was considered China’s No.1 striker, has been struggling this season in the league.
He played less than 15 minutes in two matches, but it seems that 19-year-old Zhang Yuning has stepped up.
Zhang, carrying the namesake of the former Liaoning forward, is the only China international currently playing overseas.
Wearing the traditional No.9 jersey as the center forward for China, Zhang – who saw China qualify for their only World Cup in Shenyang in 2001 when he was a kid – won accolades for his solid performance on the pitch.
Even Queiroz says Zhang was a real headache for Iran’s defensive line. However, Zhang only gave a lukewarm assessment of his first competitive match for the national team.
“I don’t think I deserve to be No.9,” he told reporters after the match. “I am new in the national team, but that also means I can do more.”
Compared to the acclaim for Zhang, pressure has mounted on the 2013-15 CSL Domestic Golden Boot winner Wu Lei.
Though posing a major threat to China’s opponents due to his pace and positioning, Wu, who played the entire length of both qualifiers at the age of 24, is yet to score a goal in the qualifiers.
But Zhang has fended off the onslaught of criticism for his national teammate, saying “It’s not fair to revile him like that … I wasted chances at times too. ”
Hunt for points
With only the top two teams in the two six-team groups automatically qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, China need to guarantee themselves a place by collecting points in their upcoming international matches.
China will take on Syria, who are seen as the minnows of the group, in Xi’an of Shaanxi Province on October 6 before flying to Tashkent to face Uzbekistan in five days.
The Syria team, with their country ravaged by war, are regarded as the weakest in the group. They played their first “home” matches in the neutral venue of Malaysia, but surprisingly held Asian No.2 South Korea to a scoreless draw on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan are the group leaders, with wins over Syria at home and stunning Qatar away. It seems like it won’t be an easy job for China to grab three points in their away match.
With the third-place team to go into a playoff round against their counterparts in the other group before setting up for a showdown against a CONCACAF team on their road to Russia, taking a top-two spot in the group seems a more direct way to ensure a World Cup berth.
A home game against Qatar in November will be the culmination of the first half of the stage, and if coach Gao wants to turn the sleeping giants into a global football power, it looks like it’s time to try some attacking football.