What is your evaluation of Tuiqiango He Shengs statement that The score reflects the gap between the Chinese national team and South Korea, and believes that there is no big issue with advancing from the group stage?

China vs South Korea: A Clear Gap in Strength, China’s Chances of Advancement Look Good

The evident gap in terms of pure strength leaves little to be said about the 0-3 score against South Korea. One of the three blind referees from West Asia made questionable decisions, but let’s not dwell on that. What is remarkable is that the national team did not collapse throughout the entire match; the players did everything they could. Honestly, after watching the game, it feels like the South Korean team is just average. All three goals were scored outside of active play. My impression of the South Korean team is that the three players on the central axis possess strong individual skills, while the rest of the team’s level is actually quite ordinary.

Considering the situation for advancing to the next stage, after all, we already secured 3 points against Thailand, our direct competitor in the group. The next home game, where we aim to remain undefeated, shouldn’t be too difficult. South Korea’s superior strength gives them a comfortable 18 points, and there are almost no variables (they couldn’t possibly shamelessly hand Thailand points, right?). On the other hand, Thailand lost a goal against a money-making machine like Singapore; who knows, maybe they’ll willingly offer a gift later on. So, all things considered, advancing shouldn’t be a real issue.

The hope of the Chinese team to advance in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers is discussed.

In two parts, let’s talk about it.

In the draw for the 36th Asian Cup qualifiers, the Chinese national team was grouped with South Korea and Thailand. Do you think there is hope for the Chinese team to advance to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers? The Chinese national team’s opponents for the Asian Cup qualifiers have all been determined, grouped with South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore. What are China’s prospects?

With the expansion of the World Cup to include North America, Asia is the biggest beneficiary, receiving an unprecedented 8.5 spots. On one hand, World Cup sponsorship comes from China, Japan, and South Korea, and on the other hand, Asian teams have made rapid progress in the past decade, with players from Japan and South Korea playing abroad in large numbers. With more spots available, not only Chinese fans but also other countries are interested.

Uzbekistan drew 2-2 with Iran at home, Malaysia won two consecutive games to lead Group D, and Thailand offers a big reward for the match against China. Vietnam, North Korea, and Kuwait have all performed well in the first two rounds, making them potential contenders for the spots.

As I mentioned in the preview, China does not necessarily need to have a life-and-death battle with South Korea. The key matches are against Thailand. Of course, we need to be cautious about South Korea being upset by Thailand, even if it’s just a draw. In the previous World Cup qualifiers, South Korea was upset by Lebanon.

This is why I emphasized in the preview that we don’t need to have a life-and-death battle with South Korea, a draw is enough. However, with the significant decline in the strength of the Chinese team and the fact that each generation is not as good as the previous one, even aiming for a draw is a luxury.

Of course, Tan Long’s shot excited the fans, but it was only a threat without shoes for the South Korean team. Yannick Carrasco arranged a 9-player defense, burdening the players with heavy thoughts, and not investing enough in counterattacks. The way they played was to hit wherever they went. Tan Long has performed well in the Chinese Super League, but at the national team level, he is simply not qualified. He could have controlled the situation calmly, but Tan Long chose to take a blind shot because he was afraid of not getting another chance.

Pressing high up the field is not something that happens regularly, but rather a random and spontaneous action by the players. If the Chinese team can press high up the field actively, following Klinsmann’s tactics, creating three or four opportunities wouldn’t be rare.

Tan Long is already 35 years old and has always been on the fringes of the national team. If he was 25 years old, this situation could be understandable, but he is already 35 years old. A player who has been on the fringes of the national team for a long time is now the main attacking force for China. If this isn’t a decline in the league’s quality and an embarrassment in player selection, then I don’t know what is.

Even when Tan Long was young, he was not the first choice for top clubs in China, but instead joined Changchun Yatai, a club in a peripheral area. This shows what kind of player Tan Long is.

How do we view China’s 2-1 comeback victory against Thailand in the World Cup qualifiers? In the 2026 South American World Cup qualifiers, Argentina lost 0-2 to Uruguay. Messi’s free kick hit the crossbar and Nunez scored. How do we evaluate this match?

We can’t avoid talking about Wu Lei. With the cheers of the home fans, what kind of performance did Wu Lei bring?

Klinsmann employed an aggressive formation with four forwards. The midfield’s Park Jong-woo has average defensive abilities, while his partner, Hwang In-beom, has stronger attacking attributes. In this situation of strong attack but weak defense, the South Korean team’s six-man attack and four-man defense were severely unbalanced. However, Wu Lei still couldn’t threaten the South Korean team’s midfield and defense, even disrupting the South Korean team’s midfield.

China only has one Wu Lei, but as China’s strongest weapon, his every move can relieve pressure on his teammates. Wu Lei’s performance in this match was far inferior to Wei Shihao, who played only half of the game. Wei Shihao made several breakthroughs in the frontcourt, putting pressure on the South Korean team, but this only created some pressure, rather than relieving the pressure on the entire midfield and defense.

The problem with Wu Lei is his lack of clear positioning and timing of his runs and receptions. In the previous match against Thailand, Li Yi urgently shouted for Wu Lei to open up the field. In this match, Wu Lei operated outside the system, not making his runs when he should and not providing support when he should.

As early as his time at Espanyol, Wu Lei was not suitable to play as a winger. Wu Lei’s current style of play is a low-budget version of Cristiano Ronaldo’s style, with a need for a center forward to open up space ahead, someone on the wing to pass him the ball, and him having almost unlimited shooting rights in the middle, fully utilizing his scoring instinct.

At 32 years old, Wu Lei still needs to emphasize the rationale of his movements, when to make runs, when to move wide, and he still needs someone to push him from behind. This is exactly what Shanghai SIPG and Chinese fans are used to.

The era of big money football not only lowered the level of Chinese clubs but also lowered fans' understanding of the game. In modern football, especially for weak teams, it is impossible to support players like Wu Lei. The most suitable position for him is as a substitute. Expending energy in the early stages and bringing in Wu Lei after 60 minutes to reap the benefits of the game. Under the U23 policy, besides nurturing young players, we haven’t seen much progress in terms of technical and tactical improvements.

Has the technical and tactical level of Chinese players improved with the arrival of international coaches like Lippi and Benitez? Losing two set-pieces in a single game, Yang Xuancheng has his share of responsibility, but none of the players know how to defend basic set-pieces, and they were half a step slower than the South Korean players on both goals.

Who was supposed to mark Son Heung-min, the key player?

Why was Zheng Chenghong left unmarked for the header?

These are basics in football. Even if Yang Xuancheng didn’t make arrangements, the players should instinctively know who to mark. If this isn’t a decline in skill, I don’t know how to explain it. Even if Jiang Guangtai is a skilled player and brave, he still couldn’t make up for the teammates' defensive lapses.

As for pressing high up the field, the Chinese team simply can’t do it. Tan Long is 35 years old and Wu Lei is 32 years old. When they were young, they couldn’t do it, so don’t expect them to lead the way when they are older. The Chinese team needs sustained, long-lasting, and multi-level pressing.

Tan Long is 35 years old. When he was young, he wasn’t the first choice for the Chinese national team. Instead, he became the first choice in his twilight years. The future belongs to Zhang Yuning, but after suffering a serious injury, Zhang Yuning’s physical abilities will definitely decline, and whether he can show his talent is unknown.

Furthermore, in modern football, studying weak teams to defeat strong teams requires running one extra mile more than the strong teams. Currently, the players of the Chinese team lack this determination and physical fitness.

Therefore, “Refund the money, brother” is just talking to oneself, imagining everything according to an ideal state. Reality never goes as planned, ideals are tough, and the present is brutal.

In the previous World Cup qualifiers, a group of fans were calculating points, with some saying that 18 points would be enough to advance. What points did the Chinese team end up with?

If Thailand were to draw with South Korea? Football is a round ball.

China’s Defeat against South Korea

The match is over, and the beautiful reporter is live-streaming with tears.

Today we lost 0:3 to South Korea, but the young men from China fought until the very last moment.

Next, let’s interview the fans at the scene.

Stand tall, today’s ticket is worth it.

Don’t be afraid to fight, goddamn it.

I see hope, the game is not over yet.

Keep it up, defeat Singapore, advance in the group stage, no more blues!

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Let’s cheer for the Chinese team together.

Chinese team, will win!!!

National team’s gap with South Korea is undeniable. Our players' abilities, basic skills, passing abilities, and mindset show the difference. Coaching and training alone cannot solve this. Group advancement is not a problem due to weak teams like Thailand and Singapore. As long as we focus on defense and counterattacks, there shouldn’t be any major issues. So, is second place in the group not normal?

Indeed, it is true that the gap between the Chinese national team and South Korea is the current situation. Just take a look at the skills of their players compared to ours, as well as the difference in our basic skills and passing abilities, and the issues that arise in our mindset and overall perspective. These problems cannot be solved solely through coaching or training.

However, it is true that the issue of advancing from the group stage is not a big one. After all, the weakness of the other teams, such as Thailand and Singapore, is evident. As long as we focus on defensive counterattacks, there should not be any major issues in dealing with these two teams.

So, isn’t it normal for us to finish second in the group?

China’s Performance in the World Cup Qualifiers

His remarks actually represent the views of many Chinese fans.

1. There is a Difference between the Chinese National Team and South Korea

This is a fact that exists in reality. Did the South Korean team play well yesterday? I don’t think so. Besides providing a much higher level of competition for the Chinese national team, the South Korean team made many mistakes, lacked the ability to seize opportunities, and had average creativity. However, the South Korean team still won the game 3-0. This is the difference in strength. The intensity of our Chinese Super League matches is declining, and it is reflected on the field as well.

Were there any problems with the referee’s decisions? Yes, there were. It to some extent affected the game. But I believe that the Chinese team should still maintain a strong aggressiveness. Although the referee’s decisions had an impact on the game, our shortcomings are real and exist. I think the Chinese Football Association should appeal, but we should also face the differences. We shouldn’t blame all the reasons on the referee.

2. No Big Problem with Advancing from the Group Stage

Indeed, the initiative lies with the Chinese team. Within the group, the South Korean team is outstanding in terms of strength, while the Thailand and Chinese teams are relatively close in strength. Singapore is basically the weakest team. The Chinese team has already achieved an away victory against Thailand and lost to South Korea. The Chinese team needs to ensure victories both home and away against Singapore and try to score as many goals as possible. When playing against Thailand at home, they should aim for a draw or a win. When facing South Korea again, they should aim for a draw or a small defeat.

Of course, football is round. There is a possibility that the Chinese team may not be able to win both matches against Singapore, and there is also a possibility that the Thailand team may defeat the South Korean team. Anything is possible. The specific situation needs to be analyzed in detail.

I hope that the Chinese team can achieve good results this time. Although we criticize the national team, make fun of them, and even insult them, there is no one who doesn’t want the Chinese national team to have good results.

National Team’s Chance in World Cup Qualifiers

Refund brother is insightful.

If we lose to South Korea in all our other four matches, the only way for us to advance is if South Korea is double-killed by Thailand and we end up tied in points, with goal difference being the tiebreaker. This probability is even smaller than us finishing first in the group, so it’s highly unlikely. We need to be solid. The same logic applies if we beat Singapore at home but draw with Thailand.

If we lose to Thailand at home, then goal difference might come into play. So comments like Li Lao Ba’s, about playing with five forwards, can only be interpreted as him giving up on winning. So strategically, we still need to learn from our brother Tiezi’s gameplay against Son Heung-min, playing conservatively and not suffering any loss except for a narrow defeat by one goal. But then again, although the result might not look as good as a 0-1 loss to Japan, the process was much better. We had counterattacks, steals in the frontcourt, and real threats to the goal. Our formation was not pressed up against the goal line like when we played against Thailand, and the quality was even higher.

If we lose to Thailand and drop points against Singapore, then it will depend on luck. We’ll have to see if Singapore can take a bite out of Thailand and if South Korea will help us out in that situation. In theory, the schedule is also in our favor. Most likely, South Korea has already secured their spot in the next round, so there’s no reason for them not to give it their all against Thailand in the back-to-back matches.

Out of all four games, the toughest one is playing away against Thailand. The national team has achieved the most difficult victory in a situation where they were not favored to win. So overall, there is indeed a great opportunity. Just looking at the odds, the probability of losing three points in the remaining three matches is smaller than the probability of winning away against Thailand.

The real test lies in the final 18-team qualifiers, divided into three groups. Undoubtedly, there will be two teams that we can’t beat, such as South Korea, Iran, Japan, and Australia, in the same group. Rather than believing in spirit and miracles, it’ll be better to hope that the Football Association does its best to avoid the deadliest group and, if possible, also avoids Saudi Arabia, and ends up in the same tier as Uzbekistan. That’s the serious business for the FA.

China vs Thailand: Can China win 9 points in the remaining matches?

Although the Chinese team won 2-1 against the Thai team, when it comes to overall strength, currently, the Chinese team, the Thai team, and the Singapore team are really evenly matched at 5-5.

Can the Chinese team win 9 points in the remaining 3 games against these two teams??

Those who have watched a lot of games know that winning is not so easy when the teams are evenly matched.

It’s not a big deal if problems occur, let’s wait and see.

World Cup Expansion: Chinese Team’s Qualifying Strategy

After the expansion of the World Cup, for the current stage of the Chinese national team, the World Cup qualifiers are like selective exams. They must correctly answer the basic questions (Singapore) and also aim for a high goal difference. They should try to avoid dropping points in the intermediate questions (Thailand) and try to gain points in the final question (South Korea). Even if they fail to answer correctly, it would be satisfying for the fans as long as they perform well (in the matches).

退钱哥 (Tui Qian Ge) didn’t say anything wrong.

Unfair Referee Decision and Provocative Fan Behavior Cause Outrage

0-3 South Korea! Controversial Referee Decision and Disappointed National Team Result Spark Crowd Fury

On this international match day, the second round of the World Cup Asian qualifiers group stage kicked off. In the first round, the underrated Chinese men’s football team performed well and staged a comeback victory against Thailand. After a short break, the national team returned to their home ground to face the strongest team in the group, South Korea. Although fans hoped for a surprising upset from the national team, everyone was well aware of the significant gap in strength between the two teams. The current South Korean team has multiple players who regularly play in top European leagues. As expected, South Korea completely dominated the match, both in attack and defense. They eventually defeated the national team 3-0, thanks to Son Heung-min’s two goals and Jung Seung-hyun’s header. However, the main focus of post-match discussions revolved around the referee’s decisions and the provocative behavior of a certain fan!

In fact, all the supporters of the national team deeply understand that the Chinese men’s football team, currently in a low period, lacks the ability to compete with South Korea. The pre-match expectation from many fans was for the team to show spirit and determination, and to aim for a win despite being seen as underdogs. Although they lost 0-3 and did not manage to get a single shot on target throughout the game, the national team demonstrated their normal level of performance, even exceeding expectations. They successfully prevented South Korea from scoring in open play.

Among the three goals conceded, one was a highly controversial penalty, and the other two were from set pieces. This clearly demonstrates the success of the national team’s defensive strategy, which effectively limited the attacking force of Son Heung-min, the captain of Tottenham Hotspur, and Lee Kang-in, a key striker for Paris Saint-Germain.

Compared to the expected loss, the referee’s decisions made the national team feel like they were not playing on their home ground. Shortly after the start of the match, a penalty was awarded to South Korea, which created a significant controversy. Throughout the game, the Qatari referee continued to make decisions favoring South Korea. In the second half, when the Chinese team finally created a counterattack opportunity, the match was interrupted because the ball hit a South Korean player’s head during a pass, and the referee blew the whistle. This incident was the reason why Wu Lei expressed his dissatisfaction. Furthermore, the referee turned a blind eye to several obvious fouls committed by South Korean players and did not maintain the same standard of officiating for both teams.

The unfair decisions by the referee and the national team’s loss have frustrated the fans. Moreover, the provocative behavior of one particular fan at the stadium has triggered the anger of most Chinese people. In a video captured by fans at the scene, this fan wearing Son Heung-min’s Tottenham Hotspur jersey raised it in the air and made provocative gestures. This instantly ignited the dissatisfaction of the surrounding fans, and some even threw water bottles at him to express their discontent.

In fact, before this fierce battle between China and South Korea, when some fans went to welcome the South Korean team at the airport, it had already caused great controversy. It is understandable for fans to appreciate Son Heung-min, but when he puts on the South Korean national team jersey and becomes an adversary to the Chinese team, welcoming the opposing team’s players at their own home ground clearly diminishes one’s own pride and strengthens the opponent’s confidence. Furthermore, in this game, after Son Heung-min scored, he made a “shut up” gesture towards the Chinese fans in the stadium, showing no respect to those so-called supporters. This once again made the fans who went to welcome the South Korean team subject to criticism!

“Impact of Past Fear of South Korea”

Didn’t they say the “Fear of Korea Syndrome” had ended in 2010? Yet in the end, in 2023, we were beaten by South Korea 3-0 at home. And unbelievably, some fans thought it was okay?

Of course, in the past, the fear of Korea was because we wanted to win and were afraid of losing. But now that we don’t fear losing, we no longer fear Korea either.