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the electronic scoreboard of saitama world cup stadium showed "0-7", witnessing a new shameful record of the chinese national football team in the official match. the result of losing to japan by 7 goals in the first match of the top 18 not only dealt a deep blow to the chinese team and chinese football, but also gave coach ivankovic a clearer reference for judging the ability of his players and the prospect of leading the team to the 2026 world cup. for coach ivankovic and his less capable players, the most urgent task is to quickly get rid of the bad mood and return to a normal state of mind to meet the next game.

after the china-japan match, the chinese team's locker room fell into silence. even when head coach ivankovic walked into the locker room, there was no verbal communication between the players. statistics show that the chinese team had less than 20% of the ball possession rate throughout the game. apart from a non-threatening shot, the chinese team did nothing in attack. ivan was really helpless about such a defeat.

of course, from a technical perspective, the chinese team conceded 7 goals in the game, and its poor defensive performance can be imagined. the reasons behind this, whether it is the lack of individual ability of the players or the lack of aggressiveness in fighting, seem to be unimportant. it is an indisputable fact that the japanese team suppressed the chinese team in their own half for most of the game. before the game, some media and fans were still arguing about whether ivan should adopt "parallel midfield position or diamond position", but as far as this chinese team is concerned, it is ridiculous and meaningless to be entangled in the technical and tactical advantages and disadvantages. in other words, if the head coaches of the chinese and japanese teams are swapped, it will still be obvious that the chinese team is inferior in skills, and the only difference may be the score. facing such a strong opponent, the chinese team is wishful thinking, let alone winning, even if it is to maintain a draw.

after the game, some people commented that this match between china and japan was not a "fair competition" at all. the 7 goals may have given a clear answer to how big the gap in strength between the two teams is. the gap of 7 goals cannot be made up by relying on technical and tactical arrangements or strong willpower. this can be easily seen from the almost desperate eyes of the chinese players on the bench after the japanese team easily scored the third and fourth goals shortly after the start of the second half. "the gap is too big. we feel that we have tried our best, but it is far from enough. the game, especially in the second half, was too painful. we have to face reality." this is the evaluation of a national team player after the game.

the reason why the 70-year-old croatian coach ivankovic bravely took over the chinese team's coaching position was largely because he always believed that chinese football had a certain foundation and strength, and chinese players also had certain abilities to compete in the world cup qualifiers. however, under his leadership, the chinese team was tied by singapore and thailand in away games and at home, so they entered the top 18 by luck. an industry insider commented: "if there was any deviation in the coaching process, then perhaps he overestimated the ability of his players." at the post-match press conference, ivan specifically pointed out, "we lost some goals that should not have been lost." this proves that the reality is far from his ideal.

the result of losing to japan by 7 goals was undoubtedly a great blow to the chinese team. however, the road to the top 18 is long. when the chinese team recognizes the gap, they should not lose the courage and confidence to continue to work hard in the remaining 9 rounds. shortly after the china-japan match, the news that the australian team in the same group lost 0-1 to bahrain at home and the south korean team in group b was tied 0-0 by palestine spread all over the internet. this also foreshadows the complicated and confusing trend of the top 18 competition. the future competition situation of the chinese team is not optimistic, but a series of examples of "the weak defeating the strong" may give the chinese team a positive psychological hint and remind them to get rid of the interference of negative emotions as soon as possible and devote themselves to the next preparation with a positive attitude.

according to the plan, the chinese team will leave tokyo on the afternoon of september 6th and return to dalian to prepare for the second round of the 18th round against saudi arabia on the evening of the 10th. if it is difficult to get points in the first round against the top seeded team japan and playing away, then in the second round back home, facing the saudi team that has traveled a long way, the chinese team must do everything they can to play at their best level. as one team member said: "there is no point in being frustrated. work and life must continue. back at home, we still have to work hard." text/beijing youth sports xiao zan