The Danish team did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup, so China's visit to Copenhagen to play a friendly match with the Danish team did not attract much attention.
Ali Khan did not want the China team to be in the spotlight before the World Cup.
First of all, no one cared about the Danish team in Europe. The China team was also an inconspicuous player. Even if the Danish team was resentful of not being able to qualify for the World Cup and gave their all against the China team, no matter what the result of the match was, the China team would not be in the limelight.
Moreover, for the Danish team, most of their national players had just finished a tough season, while most of the China team's national players were in the middle of the season. The Asian League was mostly a cycle from spring to winter, unlike the European summer cycle from autumn to summer.
The Danish team did not have the mentality to compete in the World Cup. Naturally, most of the players easily entered "vacation mode" before the warm-up match.
In Copenhagen, the home of the Danish team, Qin Xiong was not listed in the starting lineup by the manager, Ali Khan. He sat on the substitutes' bench.
The China team had been preparing for the World Cup since mid-May. Liu Yi, Zhang Pengfei, Sun Jihai, and the other players had joined the national team after the end of the league tournament. They had adjusted their physical condition well.
Qin Xiong now needed to adjust his physical condition slightly, and at the same time, to avoid excessive exhaustion.
For the sake of caution, Ali Khan planned to only give Qin Xiong 45 minutes in the first warm-up match.
The China team had shown their reliance on Qin Xiong. In other words, Qin Xiong had an irreplaceable role in both the club and the national team.
When he was not on the field, the China team's offense was a mess. The Danish team did not show any signs of fighting to the death. They just used a very conventional method. With the two famous European football players, Glenn Shire and Romedar, attacking from the flanks, the China team appeared to be unable to withstand.
Fortunately, the Danish team repeatedly missed good opportunities and only temporarily led the China team with a goal by Tomasson in the first half.
Qin Xiong sat on the substitutes' bench and carefully read the game.
His previous national team career was against Asian teams.
When they came to European territory to play against European teams, the gap between Asian and European teams became clear at a glance when they played against opponents with completely different technical and tactical styles, football philosophies, and overall combat tacit understanding.
The Danish team did not even have a particularly strong individual star player, but they suppressed the China team through rigorous and efficient tactical execution.
When Qin Xiong entered the field in the second half, he was applauded by many fans in the stadium.
The Danish fans, who had lost interest in the World Cup, also wanted to see how the superstar from the weak China team would perform.
After three years in Europe, Qin Xiong's understanding of football matches had changed under the influence of what he saw and heard.
Perhaps football was no longer simply a source of fun in his heart.
It was much more purposeful.
The purpose of the warm-up match was to warm up.
There was no need to brood over the outcome.
However, he still displayed a strength that stood out among the crowd.
The Danish team needed at least three players to defend together to completely restrict Qin Xiong's play.
Qin Xiong did not stubbornly insist on his individual performance. After he restrained the Danish team's partial strength, he would create opportunities for his teammates.
Compared to the situation in Asia where they might have some advantages, the most common situation when playing against European teams was that the China players were weak one-on-one. They were even afraid of their opponents and did not dare to play and show their skills.
However, in the 69th minute of the second half, Qin Xiong sent a wonderful pass to Li Jinyu. Li Jinyu was knocked down by the Danish goalkeeper after he formed a one-on-one attack. The China team was awarded a penalty kick.
Qin Xiong scored the penalty kick and equalized the score for the China team.
After that, the two sides did not make any progress. The first warm-up match for the China team ended in a draw.
In an interview after the game, Qin Xiong did not care about the result of the game at all. Instead, he talked about the predicament of the China team being at a disadvantage most of the time in the game.
"It's obvious that we said before that we wanted to play the style and characteristics of the China team. What happened in the end? We had no chance at all. Although this is only a warm-up match, there are more problems reflected. I don't mean any disrespect to the Danish team, but the Danish team did not make it to the World Cup. This is a fact. It's conceivable that the European teams on the World Cup stage will be more difficult to deal with than we thought. "
The longer Qin Xiong immersed in the European football world, the more he could understand and compare the difference between the China team and the European teams!
However, when the report of the China team's 1: 1 draw with the Danish team in the first warm-up match returned to China, it became a praise from various media outlets.
The reason was simple. As the soul of the China team, Qin Xiong only played for 45 minutes. It was reported that the China team easily tied the Danish team.
Although the Danish team did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup, the China football media said that the Danish team was a "very strong" European team!
Therefore, the China team's draw would stimulate the outside world's confidence in the China team and increase it.
It seemed that the players in the team also thought so. After the game, their attitude was more relaxed. Everyone seemed to only see the result of 1: 1 and did not consider the real gap in strength in the game.
As the captain, Qin Xiong did not say much. He had said what he needed to say to the media. There was no positive meaning in saying it again to his teammates in the locker room.
On the contrary, it might hurt the confidence of his teammates.
Moreover, the warm-up match itself was to adjust the state of the team. It had nothing to do with life and death. His seriousness might be seen as making a mountain out of a molehill and putting on the airs of a captain to show off.
He also hoped that the team could perform better in the next warm-up match.
On the positive side, the draw with the Danish team could stimulate the confidence of the China team and not go into the World Cup with the attitude of an army in distress.
"An army in distress is bound to win" was not a law. The China team itself lacked World Cup experience and rarely played with real masters. On the stage of the World Cup, if they really went into the game with a pessimistic mentality, they might lose before the game!
After the warm-up match with Denmark, the China team left Denmark after a day of rest in Copenhagen.
They moved toward the host country of the World Cup and would arrive in Hamburg, Germany.
There would be a game against the second warm-up match opponent, Tunisia, and the last warm-up match opponent, the United States.
The China team hoped to test and understand the styles of the teams from different continents before the World Cup group stage so that they could be ready to play against the opponents in the same group, Portugal, Mexico, and Angola.
Chinese football people from all walks of life gave advice to the China team and formulated the same strategy to qualify.
In the first game, Mexico at least did not lose. In the second game, Portugal aimed to get a draw. If they could get a draw, they would have won.
In the last game, they would defeat Angola!
Ideally, the China team could get five points and then have a high probability of advancing to the top 16. Unless the three teams tied with each other and Angola lost, it would be difficult for them to qualify with five points.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
