“Everything needs to be improved”
Veteran striker Wu Lei of the Chinese national soccer team said this after losing 0-1 in the final Group A match against Qatar (58th) of the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, which kicked off at Khalifa International Stadium in Alayyan, Qatar, at 12 a.m. on the 23rd (Korea time).
China finished its group league with two draws and one loss (two points). The Chinese team ranked third in the group, but still has a chance to advance to the round of 16. In this year’s event, the top four teams among the top-two teams and the third-ranked teams in each of the six groups can advance to the round of 16. China now has to wait until the end for the final group match.
Chinese coach Jankovic said, “I do my best and have no regrets. Our fate depends on other teams. Arithmetically, there is still a chance of reaching the round of 16,” chanting the hopeful.
Nevertheless, Chinese fans were very angry. They are turning their backs on their performances, which are close to graduation matches, in which they only scored zero goals in three matches. “In theory, it is a new way of torture, waiting for death even if people say they can advance to the round of 16,” Chinese fans said, expressing anger, “It feels as if they are hanging by hanging their necks on a rope.”
“It’s not an ideal result. We haven’t scored a single goal in three group matches. We still need to make overall adjustments including offense and technique. We have to work hard to improve all aspects,” Urey said.
“Certainly, the rhythm of the game and individual ability of the teams that we thought were weak teams in the past have improved. It is undeniable. My skills and strength have improved, but we are not good enough. We need improvement in all aspects,” he added.
He bowed his head. “We sincerely thank our fans. They came to the stadium to support us even in difficult situations, but we only disappointed them. We will try to improve more and make everyone happy,” Urey said.