China NT 2015 Thread (Post-Asian Cup)

Upsets aplenty. Iran and Japan knocked out as well. Australia has a better chance of winning the cup now.

 

WHAT

Wow that has to make Aussies the unquestionable bookies favourites, and just think if Perrin decided to go for it against the Aussies, China would probably have their best chance ever to win this thing, Ow well I can dream, but seriously China had a decent tournament and it looks like were progressing.

 

That was my impression after seeing the replay. However, things are further complicated by another defender (Zhang Linpeng?) jumping at the same time, effectively blocking ref's view. I wish ZZ just head the ball out of bounds. Wang Dalei should have reached to the loose ball as #2's header floats in the air.

The best opportunity for China early was Zhang Linpeng's low cross just in front of Australia's goal. He passed into a crowd of defenders. If that pass was chipped to the back, there was almost no defenders.

 

China has went up 14 places on the FIFA rankings (from 96 to 82) due to their performance at the Asian Cup. They're now in a position to be in Pot 1 seeding for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

 

Wikipedia reporting three friendlies in March :

March 25 vs Philippines
March 27 vs Bahrain
March 31 vs Tunisia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_national_football_team

is this correct ?

 

Is zhang linpeng injured? Also no Zhang Xizhe? Perrin should just do the guy a favor and get him some game action.

 

Friendly against Tunisia:

HT China 0-1 Tunisia

China line-up:

Wang Dalei
Ji Xiang-Feng Xiaoting (c)-Ren Hang-Jiang Zhipeng
Wu Xi-Cai Huikang-Liu Jianye
Wu Lei-Yang Xu-Yu Hanchao

Pretty even first half with both teams trying to play counter attacking football. It didn't really pick up until the 34 min when China had a spell of pressure with Feng Xiaoting's header being cleared of the line. Tunisia would soon have their moments of pressure and ended up scoring thanks to a Feng Xiaoting losing the ball in the middle of the park. Despite a brief recovery Mohamed Ali Moncer scored from the following cross.

 

bench yu hanchao

 

FT China 1-1 Tunisia

Yu Dabao scored in extra time though there was a suspicion that Ren Hang was off-side but was he interfering? Anyway it's hard to judge the second half because of the many subs but from what I've gathered China were certainly more attacking in the second half. Wu Xi, Cai Huikang, Liu Jianye was way too defensive, which meant no one from midfield would or could hold the ball in the attacking third. Piao Cheng came on and it looked like he controlled the midfield better but it's hard to judge because he just may have been fresher then the others, that goes the same for Zhang Chiming. Anyway it was a decent result from a good side if China can get a good balance in midfield then I think Perrin could have a genuinely decent side.

 

Wang Dalei with another penalty save and another big save on the rebound

 

http://sports.sina.com.cn/n/2015-04-01/20467561775.shtml

Based on the most recent friendlies, China has secured one of the group seeds.
Tier 1 - Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, UAE, Uzbekistan, China, Iraq
Tier 2 - Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Syria, Kuwait
Tier 3 - Afghanistan, Philippines, Palestine, Maldives, Thailand, Tajikistan, Lebanon, India
Tier 4 - East Timor, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Myanmar, Singapore, Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Bhutan
Tier 5 - Malaysia, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Yemen, Guam, Laos, Cambodia, Taiwan

My opinion
Tier 2's Arab teams are about on-par with China. Vietnam is slightly weaker but catching up.
Tier 3 and 4 should be no problem except for a few dark horses such as North Korea or Thailand.
Tier 5 should pose no problems at all for China.

As for Tier 1, China is definitely weaker than the 4 WC-2014 sides (Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia), is slightly weaker than Iraq, and about on-par with UAE and Uzbekistan.

Your thoughts?

 

Looks like a fair assessment to me. Thanks to a decent Asian Cup showing we managed to get top seed and avoid some of the powerhouses. I think it's safe to say that everyone would want us from the top seed if they could choose.

I'm not too sure where our actual level is at the moment though, two very dissapointing friendlies recently and Perrin's call-ups and playing people out of position doesn't help that much either, hopefully he has figured something out when the qualifiers starts.

 

Well he was missing some key players like Zhang Linpeng and Zhang Chengdong. Mei Fang and Feng Xiaoting need to be dropped. That backline was terrible

 

I rate Chinese football much higher than Iraq's. I found China's performance at the last Asian Cup impressive and solid especially in the group stage, I don't think they will face problems against the Iraqi's. The way I see it, there is a realistic chance to at least reach the play-offs round for a WC 2018 ticket.

Also really looking forward to see Zhang Xizhe getting playing minutes for Wolfsburg.

 

The draw has just been made.

China is grouped in Group #3, with Qatar, Maldives, Bhutan and Hong Kong.
Acceptable. Qatar is the only serious opponent to look out for. The rest of the three, do not be complacent, win the weaker teams as much as possible, do not be content with just 1 goal. (That was what happened during last Asia Cup qualifiers when China drew with Indonesia 1-1 away and later finished 3rd in group).

 

Totally excited for the Hong Kong-China game.

 

Friendlies before World Cup qualifiers ?