At 8 pm on March 26th, Beijing time, the fourth round of Group C of the second stage of the FIFA 2026 World Cup and 2027 AFC Saudi Arabian Asian Cup joint qualifiers, the Chinese national men’s football team played against the Singaporean team at home in Tianjin. Olympic Sports Center. In the end, the national football team defeated the Singaporean team 4:1, achieving a big victory after a long drought and regaining the upper hand in the battle to advance to the group stage.
Picture provided by cfp of fans on site
Wu Lei led the way with 2 shots and 1 pass. Unfortunately, Thailand was suspended in the next round.
In the last away game against Singapore, Wu Lei scored two goals in the first half. , but he repeatedly wasted opportunities and ultimately failed to help the national football team win. They got a 2:2 draw in the away game, so he also received a lot of criticism.
In this game, Wu Lei was not affected by external criticism, but returned to the game in full condition. In the 21st minute, the national football team counterattacked. After Zhang Yuning got the ball, he adjusted and hit the center. Wu Lei got the ball and formed a single shot. After entering the penalty area, he calmly shot and scored, helping the national football team lead 1:0.
The national football team's games have never been smooth sailing. Just one minute after this goal was scored, the national football team was scored by the opponent due to the distraction of the defense. In the second half, after Fernando scored the first goal of his national football career from a penalty kick, Li Yuanyi's red card once again dragged the game into a dangerous situation.
At the critical moment, Wu Lei stood up. In the 84th minute, Gao Tianyi split Wu Lei on the left. Wu Lei rode alone for thousands of miles, took the ball to the edge of the penalty area and blasted the ball into the dead corner. The national football team led 3:1, which basically killed the suspense of the game; In the 90th minute, the national football team once again made a beautiful counterattack. After Wu Lei got the ball from the left, he did not choose to shoot it himself this time. Instead, he gave it to Wei Shihao who had already intervened in the middle. Wei Shihao pushed the ball with no one to defend him. The ball was scored and the victory was sealed 4:1.
In this game, Wu Lei scored two goals and one assist, and was the biggest contributor to the victory. However, Wu Lei received a yellow card in this game and will not be able to play against Thailand in the next round. This is also a big loss for the national football team.
Li Yuanyi was red in the national football team, but there were no "little players". There was a 10-10 fight.
The most critical moment for the national football team was in the 79th minute. Li Yuanyi made a tackle and kicked the opponent's leg. The referee directly showed a red card. As soon as Li Yuan was sent off, theoretically the national football team had to play 10 versus 11. However, because the Singapore team has used up all five substitutions ahead of schedule, Singapore can no longer make substitutions while their players are receiving treatment on the sidelines due to injuries.
Therefore, when Wu Lei scored the third goal for the national football team, the number of people on the field was actually equal, 10 against 10. After the game, Singapore team coach Tsutomu Ogura said: "We performed well most of the time in this game. It was a good game. However, due to serious injuries to our players, a 10-on-10 situation occurred, which caused us to The strategy was disturbed, so the result was not very satisfactory."
42,977 people cheered for the national football team and sang "Singing the Motherland" after the game
In this game, the home court of the national football team at the Tianjin Olympic Sports Center can be said to have created a fantastic atmosphere for the national football team. Atmosphere. A total of 42,977 people were on hand to cheer for the national football team. It was thanks to the crazy encouragement of the fans that the national football team was finally able to achieve a big victory in a very difficult situation.
After the game, an even more touching scene appeared in the stadium. When the national football soldiers were leaving the field, "Ode to the Motherland" was played on the scene, and the fans who had been reluctant to leave for a long time paid tribute to the national football team and followed. The speakers sang in unison, more than 40,000 people sang in unison, how could it not be moving! Not only "Singing the Motherland", but also "Five-Star Red Flag", the victory of the national football team turned Tianjin's "water drop" into a large-scale patriotic song chorus scene.
After the game, national football coach Ivankovic commented on the game and said: "Congratulations to our players for their victory. They put in a lot of hard work on the field. The victory is dedicated to the fans at the scene and brings joy to the fans. As the 12th man, the fans gave us Support, it is very happy.From the perspective of the fans, our game was very tortuous. The fans gave us unremitting support. From the draw in the previous game to the victory this time, the Football Association gave us a lot of help. Under the care of the leaders of the Football Association, we worked closely to ensure that the effects of training were reflected on the playing field. "
As the Thai team lost 0:3 at home to the South Korean team in this round, the national football team's qualifying situation has become brighter again. Currently, the national football team has 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, with 7 points, and the goal difference is 1 goal; while the Thai team 1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses and a total of 4 points, with a goal difference of -2 goals. In the next round, if the national football team defeats Thailand, they will lock in a qualifying spot in the group and advance to the top 18. Once there is a tie, the national football team will still have a 3-point lead. and 3 goal difference advantages, but considering that there is little hope of scoring points against South Korea in the final round, the national football team still needs to strive to win Thailand.
Yangtze Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Zhang Chenxuan Zhang Hao
Proofreading by Tao Shanggong
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