Full time: China 1-1 Japan China ends up second place in the East Asian Cup. South Korea wins the tournament with 5 points while China had 4 points. Honestly, this was probably China's best performance in the tournament (better than the North Korea game). They defended pretty well for most of the game while also having some nice attacking plays (especially the counterattacks).
45 man provincial squad for the World Cup qualifying game against Hong Kong (September 3): *A further 23 man squad will be announced in the next few days.
Male’, MALDIVES – Football Association of Maldives has confirmed that the FIFA World Cup Qualifier against China on 8th September would be the home match of China and the match on 24th March 2016 will be the home game for the Maldives.“The match against China on 8th September will be the home game for China and the second match on 24th March 2016 will be the home game for the Maldives and we got the approval from the respected authorities for this.” Football Association of Maldives General Secretary Bassam Adeel Jaleel said.The venue of this match is Shenyang Olympic Center Stadium in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province and the capacity of this stadium is 55,000. The kick off time is 16:35 in Maldives time. - http://www.maldivesoccer.com/s/Maldives-faces-china-in-their-home-5887
Zhang Linpeng is included in the 23 man squad for Hong Kong (September 3) and Maldives (September 9): *It's great to see Zheng Long back in the China team! Honestly he deserves it because he's been one of Evergrande's best players this season. Zhang Chengdong is recalled back to the squad after signing with Rayo Vallecano and Henan Jianye's Bi Jinhao has been called up for the first time. Surprise exclusion of Feng Xiaoting in the squad this time around.
^ Feng Xiaoting was only there because of injuries in the first place. Makes way too many mistakes to be considered a viable option for the NT. One player that I would like to see be given the opportunity at CB is Shi Ke.
Full-time: China 0-0 HK. China played a decent game during the first half, but were denied due to bad luck (hit the post many times) combined with some stubborn defending from the HK defense (esp. the goalie), aided by their European and African expat imports. They came and expected an easy win, but having been denied so many times started to panic, and began to make many passing mistakes. By the 60th-70th minute, China has lost the plot completely and is just whacking random shots away. Mentality is the key reason why China always plays poorly against small teams. They really need to improve their game at HK because the atmosphere will be very intimidating there.
China had something around 40 shots the whole game…FORTY! Hong Kong only had about 3 or 4 shots. How China didn't win is beyond me...
Bad luck is not a valid excuse that they couldn't pot in one....ONE damn goal. The fact that they had to resort to hopeful long range shots in the second half proves this team does not have enough creativity in attack. Instead of sticking with the same script, Perrin needs realize he has much more at his disposal. How guys like Huang Bowen and Zhang Xizhe haven't even featured once during his tenure is inexplicable. I know Zheng Zhi hit the woodwork a couple of times today, but in games against sides like Hong Kong, wouldn't someone like Huang Bowen offer more in terms of going forward and breaking the opposition's defense?
Watching China vs. Maldives game now. Why is the teamwork still poor - basic schoolboy errors still made occasionally, can't string a set of passes decently? Against stronger teams - no chance to win. And why does Perrin play conservatively / defensively most of the time?
Full time 3-0, but unconvincing game. So many error passing in midfield. Very little hunger to win, even though goal difference can make a big difference if points are close at the end. Complacency? Or to conserve energy for club games? Somewhat disappointed.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, China lack genuine skill and composure in the final third. It's one thing to pass the ball to the final third but what do you do next? Ideally you get to the D and do a one-two before you get into the box and have a shot on goal, but weaker teams bunker and you try to do that against 8 or 9 defenders. Your passing has to truly be pinpoint or have players who are skilful enough to dribble past these defenders on the D. Do China have these players? No but to be honest few teams in the world have them. Moving the ball from one side to side is the next best option, play the percentages and "whip" in a great cross. I emphasize the word whip because this is something that Chinese players don't do, you see it in the CSL where they loop in a slow high balls into the box, it's totally ineffective, easy to defend against and particularly easy for the goalkeeper to catch. I'm not sure why they do it, it must be something they're taught, probably because it will bypass the defender nearest to the post, however a fast paced cross with perfect height will do that anyway and more importantly with genuine speed and perfect height it increases your chances of scoring as well as own goals. I only saw one decent cross/corner from China and it resulted in the second goal. Buggy88 alluded that China were weak in midfield, with poor passing and lack of desire to win the ball back. What I was more concerned about were their attempts to create space in midfield. As what were seen in these two games the opposition have packed the defence forcing the midfield little to no room to pass and turn around. This is were ingenuity comes in from our midfielder's; did anybody drop off and let the opposition come at them creating space for their team mates? Did anybody try to do an up-and-over, where you chip the ball to your team mate only for the opposition defender to clear the ball back to you but because he's out of position your team mate has space and you chip ball back to him again? Did anybody dribble pass any defenders at all come to think about it? Buggy88 suggests that Perrin is telling them to play conservatively but he can't be telling them not to probe the oppositions defence and take risks in the final third. Either way China have a lot of work to do before the Qatar game because these two games have been somewhat disappointing.
A big positive for me was Zheng Long. It's great to see him in the China team because he deserves it. He's one of, if not, China's best winger. Also, it was strange to see that Gao Lin and Wu Lei didn't play today. You would think those two would be far better attackers against a team like Maldives.
Pretty sure Wu Lei received a lot of criticism from the media after the Hong Kong game. Im guessing he was benched by Perrin and as for Gao Lin, Yu Dabao and Yang Xu are simply better options? This team showed once again that there just isn't enough quality in midfield and upfront to lead the attack.
the only positive thing i can say about perrin, for now, is he is willing to use new and different players. it will be interesting to see how our team will go on, given our lack of depth up front. i watched a bit of the qatar vs. hong kong game, qatar was quick and with strong offense. it will be interesting to see how our defence will play against them..
http://sports.sina.com.cn/china/national/2015-09-23/doc-ifxhzevf0988233.shtml http://sports.sina.com.cn/china/national/2015-09-23/doc-ifxhytwp5592017.shtml China's NT squad vs. Qatar - No Gao Lin, Zhang Xizhe or Huang Bowen. Perrin said he wanted speedy, physical and aggressive players in midfield. Thoughts?
He's definitely not getting that if he isn't including Huang Bowen. Absolute disgrace considering he's the best Chinese centre midfielder at the moment. Plus some of his selection choices are awful.
Absolutely ludicrous that he is leaving 3 of the top 10 chinese footballers at the moment from the squad. Even worse that it's basically a must-win game.
Starting XI: Wang Dalei, Ji Xiang, Zhang Linpeng, Mei Fang, Ren Hang, Zhang Chengdong, Cai Huikang, Zheng Zhi, Zheng Long, Wu Xi, Yu Dabao *Must win game for China! A draw or a loss could ruin China's chances to make it to the next round of qualifying.