China 0-2 South Korea Lee Jong-ho scores after a great pass that split open the Chinese defense. Perrin needs to rethink his tactics because China has nothing going forward.
Full time: China 0-2 South Korea With an injury ravaged (and makeshift) defense, conceding goals was expected but Perrin set up with literally no attacking tactics at all. Very frustrating game to watch. South Korea could've won by 3 or 4 if not for big saves by Wang Dalei. Yu Hai, Cai Huikang, and Ji Xiang were our worst players today.
Thanks for the info Zhou Jiabao. From what I'm hearing China still lack creativity in attack. I would of liked to have seen what creative players such as Zheng Long, Cao Yunding or even Zhang Xizhe (despite his lack of match time) might of done.
Zheng Long should be first choice for the wings for sure. He's proven his talent this year and several years before. It's a shame he's overlooked. Zhang Xizhe would help unlock defenses far better than most players on the Chinese team.
It's not that we lack the creative talent, it's Perrin's defensive tactics that were wrong today. He employed pretty much the same tactics like he did against Australia in the Asian Cup with pretty much no intentions on going forward. Gao Lin was completely isolated up top today with no support from the wingers or the midfield. Wang Yongpo as an AMF dropped back to the backline multiple times to collect the ball, but instead of trying to go forward he just passed it back, and in the end it always ended up in either Feng Xiaoting or Zheng Zhi playing a long ball to Gao Lin who lost the ball due to having no support from the team. Gao Lin did reasonably well considering this fact, as he did manage to win most of the duels when being played the ball. I'm not against playing defensive but atleast push some men forward now and then. I rarely saw the wingers push forward when in a counter attacking situation, instead they were content on passing the ball around the backline a couple of times and letting South Korea get in position, and then play a useless long ball. The fact that he kept playing like that even when 1-0 and 2-0 down is something I don't agree with at all. Only in the last 10 mins or so did the team push forward, and they actually created a couple of chances, but it was way too late in my opinion.
What's the use of EAFF anyway? Japan and South Korea sent their "reserve" teams sans European players while China sent a near full-strength one. It's a waste of time to play against a nerfed team as that means less big-match experience. That being said if we can't even beat Japan / South Korea's domestic players, then there is really no hope for WC qualifiers. Also I think Perrin can't be blamed for playing an over-defensive line-up; China's center defense has always been weak, esp. so without Zhang Linpeng, attack too much and you will expose the defense. I've seen how some of the defenders during the friendlies make schoolboy mistakes that have costed a few goals.
What China needs to do is put Zheng Zhi in the middle with Wu Xi instead of Cai Huikang. Zheng is our rock in the midfield and that's when China plays its best. Play Wang Tong at right back, Feng Xiaoting/Lei Tenglong at centre back, and Ren Hang at left back. I would also start Wu Lei as a striker alongside Gao Lin because if you've seen how SIPG play with Wu and Gyan, Gao could draw out players like Gyan which leads to space for Wu to run with the ball. 4-4-2 formation (against North Korea & Japan): Wang Dalei Wang Tong - Feng Xiaoting - Lei Tenglong - Ren Hang Sun Ke - Wu Xi - Zheng Zhi - Liu Binbin Wu Lei - Gao Lin
4-3-3* formation (my favored full strength lineup): Wang Dalei Zhang Linpeng - Feng Xiaoting - Ren Hang - Jiang Zhipeng Zheng Zhi Wu Xi - Zhang Xizhe Wu Lei - Gao Lin - Zheng Long *Kind of a 4-1-2-3
Starting XI: Zeng Cheng, Wang Tong, Yu Yang, Lei Tenglong, Rao Weihui, Liu Jianye, Zheng Zhi, Sun Ke, Wang Yongpo, Yu Dabao, Yang Xu *Perrin playing a weaker team against North Korea than against South Korea
Not a bad first half for China but could be better when it's against a team like North Korea. Would like to see Wu Lei and Liu Binbin come on in the second half to threaten the North Korean goal more.
I expected Norks to give Chinese a wealth of trouble and even up the score for the lost in asian cup. Keep in mind that this is the same nork team who had beaten Uzbeks and Japan in their two recent matches. And 2-0 lead for Chinese, maybe a mountain climb for our brothers up north. Which now sets up a brawl and a very interesting match of China vs Japan.
Full time: China 2-0 North Korea Better than the match against South Korea but both teams play completely different styles. Next up is a tough game against Japan on August 9 (Sunday).
Starting XI: Wang Dalei, Ji Xiang, Feng Xiaoting, Ren Hang, Rao Weihui, Liu Jianye, Cai Huikang, Wu Lei, Wu Xi, Yu Dabao, Gao Lin
Wu Lei almost scored again if not for a great save from the Japanese goalkeeper! Because North Korea tied South Korea in the other game, China can win the East Asian Cup with a win against Japan.
Not a bad first half from China. It's been a good performance with a real intent to attack (complete opposite of the game against South Korea). Japan still looks like a team that could easily take the lead through one real chance though. For the second half, I would sub on Zheng Zhi for Liu Jianye to shore things up in midfield and Liu Binbin for Yu Dabao to add more speed up front for counterattacks. Keep Gao Lin on for the rest of the game because he is the threat for China that draws Japanese defenders away from other Chinese attackers (Wu Lei, etc).