On June 11th, Beijing time, the national football team ushered in a life-or-death battle in the United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup qualifiers. They challenged South Korea in an away game in the last round of the top 36. As long as they tied, they would be guaranteed to advance to the top 18. After 90 minutes of hard work, the national football team lost to South Korea 0-1 and missed the opportunity to qualify early, giving up the initiative.
As they were tied 2-2 by Singapore in the third round and failed to win Thailand at home in the fifth round, the suspense of the national football team continued until the final round of life-and-death battle. Before the final round started, the South Korean team qualified early and Singapore was eliminated early. The national football team with 8 points and Thailand with 5 points competed for qualification. However, many factors before the game are not conducive to the national football team. First of all, the kick-off time of this game is one and a half hours earlier than Thailand vs. Singapore. Secondly, the South Korean team has to fight for the top 18, so it also has to strive for three points, and the Singapore coach Absence of illness often means lying down. Therefore, the national football team can only rely on itself.
In terms of starting, Ivankovic finally gave up the single midfielder and deployed five defenders for defensive counterattacks. There are three central defenders, Zhu Chenjie, Jiang Shenglong, and Jiang Guangtai. The two wing-backs on the left and right are Liu Yang and Yang Zexiang. The midfielders are Wang Shangyuan, Xie Wenneng, and Xu Haoyang. In front, Baihe Lamu and Fernando are high and fast, and the goalkeeper is Wang Dalei. The Korean team's Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, and Lee Gang-in form a trident. The midfielder is Lee Jae-sung, Jung Woo-yeong, and Hwang In-beom. The defense line from left to right is Kim Pearl, Kwon Kyung-won, Cho Yoo-min, and Park Seung-woo. The goalkeeper is Cho Hyun-woo.
In the first half of the game, the national football team performed almost perfectly. Although they were beaten by the Korean team most of the time, everyone was focused and did not give the Korean team a good chance. Especially when Son Heung-min gets the ball, he usually has two or more people on defense. The Chinese fans who are on the expedition are also very powerful. Three thousand people are not empty when facing 60,000 Korean fans. Son Heung-min once made a 3-0 gesture towards the stands. On the offensive end, Baihe Lamu and Fernando were violated by the South Korean team many times, winning a set kick opportunity for the national football team. Jiang Shenglong's header went wide. At the end of the first half, Fernando's cross was cleared and Liu Yang's volley was blocked. This was the closest the national football team came to scoring a goal. At halftime, the two sides battled 0-0.
In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again, and the stranglehold between the two sides in the midfield became obviously more intense. In the 61st minute, the South Korean team scored a goal as soon as they made a substitution. A long diagonal pass found Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min knocked across the penalty area and Lee Gang-in scored with his second shot. Falling behind, the national football team faced a choice, either to keep the score of 0-1 and pin their hopes on Singapore, or to risk losing another goal and adjust the formation. Ivankovic chose the latter. He replaced Wu Lei and Zhang Yuning and let go. Give it a try. However, despite the decline in physical fitness, the national football team still dare not fully press forward, fearing that the formation will be out of touch. In the end, the score of 0-1 remained until the final whistle.
After this game, the national football team missed the chance to advance to the top 18 in advance, and their fate was handed over to Thailand and Singapore. If Thailand wins 2-0 or 1 goal, then the national football team can still qualify with a small score advantage. Otherwise, we need to prepare for 2030 in advance.
