"Is Dai going to participate in that Asian Cup?"

"Yes. Jose, this is the sixth time you've asked me. ”

“……”

In January 2019, what was Mourinho's biggest headache?

It is definitely not the intensive schedule of the Premier League after the return of the Club World Cup, nor the clash with Sandezi in the winter transfer period, but Dai Zhiwei is about to leave the team to participate in the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Originally, the biennial Africa Cup of Nations was Mourinho's most terrible plague, but because Cameroon was postponed due to riots, the stadium construction was postponed, so it was disqualified, and Egypt took over to host the start of the tournament from January to June, this change made Mourinho breathe a sigh of relief, but he didn't expect the Asian Cup to be waiting for him again.

Since the 1956 Asian Cup in Hong Kong, the Asian Cup has been held in the summer, so it has not had any impact on European clubs, but since the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar, the organizers of three consecutive Asian Cups have changed the time of the match to January due to various factors such as geographical location and temperature.

At this time, the major European leagues have entered the first place, and at this time, Asian players will go to participate in the Asian Cup, which will have a great impact on the preparation of many clubs, especially the intensive schedule, and there are many Asian players in the Premier League, such as this time Dai Zhiwei went to play the Asian Cup, which is an absolutely devastating blow to Manchester United, and it is very likely that the top position will not be guaranteed.

Fortunately, this time Manchester United and Huaxia Football agreed on a result that both parties were satisfied with: Dai Zhiwei would not leave Manchester United and return to the national team until the Chinese team finished the first round of the Asian Cup, that is, the quarterfinals.

Mourinho certainly hopes that the Chinese team will return home early, but he has also made two preparations, that is, to squeeze as much value as possible before Dai Zhiwei leaves.

So, after returning from the Club World Cup, he started every game and played almost all of United's games during that time.

Dai Zhiwei also knew that it was more or less interesting to leave Mourinho and his club teammates to play the Asian Cup at this time, but he had to go for national honors, so he gave the team a wave of consecutive wins before he left.

After returning to Manchester from the United Arab Emirates, he helped the Red Devils 61 to slaughter Cardiff City in the 18th round of the Premier League, and then scored two braces to help the team win over Bournemouth and Huddersfield Town in the 19th and 20th rounds of the Premier League, with two 40 home games to end 2018.

After the arrival of 2019, Dai Zhiwei is still in hot form, first helping the Red Devils beat Newcastle United away in the Premier League, and then opening the scoring in the third round of the FA Cup, helping the Red Devils beat Reading to advance to the next round.

He dominated two meetings with Tottenham in the second week of January.

In the first leg of the English League Cup semifinals on January 9, Dai Zhiwei dominated the game with two passes and one shot at Wembley Stadium, leading the team to 31 to break through Tottenham and seize the initiative.

In the 22nd round of the Premier League on January 13, Dai Zhiwei shot with a gliding momentum, and beat Tottenham Hotspur with a free kick, and successfully killed Tottenham in 5 days!

In the last game before leaving, he contributed another pass and a shot to help the team win 20 against Brighton, and also temporarily fixed Manchester United's Premier League record this season to 20 wins and 3 draws, remaining unbeaten!

So far in the new season, Dai Zhiwei has scored 59 goals and 22 assists in official matches for Manchester United, including 31 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League, and 8 goals and 5 assists in the Champions League!

The reason why this is the last game before Dai Zhiwei leaves the team is because the Chinese team in the Asian Cup is competitive enough and has successfully entered the quarterfinals as agreed!

In this year's Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates, the Chinese team tends to be younger, with an average age of 2596 years old, which is a full two years younger than the Chinese team's lineup in the 2018 World Cup in Russia!

Among the 23-man squad of the Chinese team, the post-90s account for the vast majority, with 16 and 10 post-95s, and it is obvious that the Chinese Football Association and Cannavaro are preparing for the next Qatar 2022.

However, it is impossible to say that this Chinese team is too young and inexperienced, and there are as many as 17 people in this Chinese team who have participated in the World Cup in Russia, including Zheng Zhi, Zhang Linpeng, Yu Hanchao, Hao Junmin, Dai Zhiwei and Wu Lei, who are the absolute main force that reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup last year.

Cannavaro: It's both now and in the future!

In the first match of the Asian Cup, the Chinese team faced the Kyrgyzstan team at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Ain, United Arab Emirates, and won 2:1 to get off to a good start.

In the 42nd minute, Kyrgyzstan's Israjlov scored from a distance, 01.

In the second half, the Chinese team's attack picked up. In the 50th minute, Hao Junmin took a corner kick to force Kyrgyzstan goalkeeper Majiashi to make a low-level mistake and contribute to an own gift, 11, and the two teams returned to the same running line!

In the 78th minute, substitute Wu Lei sent the ball into the empty goal to overtake the score, 21, the Chinese team successfully achieved a reversal!

It is worth mentioning that Wu Lei also hurried back from Villarreal two days before the start of the game to join the national team, and so far this season he has scored 6 goals and 3 assists for Villarreal in La Liga, and is tied with Ekambi as the team's top scorer.

In the second match against the Philippine team, the Chinese team broke the deadlock in the 40th minute by Wu Lei, who made his debut in the Asian Cup, 10.

In the 66th minute, Wu Lei, who has been training in La Liga for 2 years, showed his superior ability, and scored twice with a volley to expand the score, 20!

In the 80th minute, the substitute Wei Shihao, who came on for only 16 seconds, volleyed in the penalty area to lock the score, 30!

It is worth mentioning that Hao Junmin scored a hat trick of assists in this game.

After this battle, the Chinese team won 2 consecutive victories, qualified for the group 1 round in advance, and advanced to the round of 16 as desired.

China's final game in the group stage was against the South Korean team, whose number one star Son Heung-min had just returned.

Last year, the South Korean team failed to participate in the World Cup in Russia, and the reason was that the Chinese team planted a big heel in the top 12 and was deprived of the promotion place by the Chinese team, so the whole South Korean team is determined to win this game with a sense of revenge, and Son Xingmin also deliberately rushed back in advance!

However, Cannavaro did not choose to fight hard with the South Korean team, or before Dai Zhiwei came back, he did not have the confidence to fight hard with the first-class Asian team, so he hid Zheng Zhi, Zhang Linpeng and Hao Junmin, the three veterans, which was quite a bit of a throw.

The South Korean team was not polite, firmly grasped the initiative on the field after the start of the game, and the immature Chinese team internationals were almost powerless, and 02 was easily defeated by Son Xingmin, regrettably winning the second place in the group.

Although the loss is in the plan, this game also reflects the biggest problem of the Chinese team now: the Chinese team with Dai Zhiwei is the top strength in Asia, and even able to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup last year, but once Dai Zhiwei is unable to participate, the Chinese team has become a second-rate level in Asia.

In the quarterfinals against Thailand, the Chinese team also performed unsatisfactorily, and the game process was also stumbling.

In the 31st minute, Cannavaro's carefully built defense was scored by Thailand's Subachai corner kick from close range, and fell into the unfavorable situation of falling behind 01.

After conceding the goal, the Chinese team still did not organize a very effective attack, and at the end of the first half, the Chinese team fell behind 0:1.

Yibian fought again, and the Chinese team's offense finally improved, and they continued to get good opportunities.

In the 51st minute, Zhang Yuning, who played in the Championship with West Brom this season, burst into the penalty area and crossed, Wu Lei got a single chance and shot into the net after the first shot was saved, 11, and the Chinese team struggled to equalize the score.

It is worth mentioning that Zhang Yuning did not choose to return to China to play football this season as in his previous life, and after experiencing the baptism of the World Cup, he chose to play in England with Dai Zhiwei under the words and deeds of his idol Dai Zhiwei, and currently has 5 Championship goals.

In the 68th minute, Zhang Yuning was tripped by the opposing defender in the penalty area after breaking through, and the referee decisively awarded a penalty, and the captain Zheng Zhi hit the penalty, 2:1!

The Chinese team reversed the score!

In the following game, the Chinese team controlled the situation on the field and maintained the score of 2:1 to the end, and entered the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup

This is the first knockout victory of the Chinese men's national football team at all levels in various competitions in Asia since the Chinese team defeated Syria 1-0 in the semifinals of the Asian Youth Championship in October 2004

Speaking of which, it seems somewhat pitiful, pathetic, hateful, hateful!

After the victory over the Thai team, the Chinese team ushered in the long-awaited good news

"The Asian Cup is always waiting for me and I will lead by example."

Dai Zhiwei is on his way!

This is the best news that Chinese fans have heard since the start of the Asian Cup!

At 10:30 a.m. London time on January 20, after Manchester United's Premier League match with Brighton the day before, Dai Zhiwei immediately went straight from Old Trafford to the airport after a night's rest. His next destination was Dubai and then Abu Dhabi.

In order to get to the team a day earlier, Dai Zhiwei changed his flight route. According to the new plan, he will meet with the teams that have entered the top 8 of the Asian Cup on the morning of the 21st Abu Dhabi time.

The Chinese team's expectations for Dai Zhiwei are very strong, and the weak lineup has been questioned by the media, which has also made head coach Cannavaro very distressed.

On the morning of January 21, the Chinese Football Association sent a special car to Dubai International Airport to welcome Dai Zhiwei's arrival.

He then spent an hour and a half driving to Yas Island, where the Chinese team was stationed.

It's just that the training time of the Chinese team that day is 11 o'clock, and the possibility of Dai Zhiwei participating is very small.

His first training session in the Asian Cup is more likely to come on the pitch before the match between China and Iran.

Dai Zhiwei himself is full of enthusiasm for the Asian Cup, "This is a game that many Chinese fans have been waiting for a long time, and I have also been waiting for a long time. I hope to go to the UAE to accomplish my goal and show the fans the best through a wonderful game. ”

He also expressed his guilt because he was late to join the team, "I will lead by example on the training ground and on the pitch and give my best in my role. The team-mates have played well before, winning the first few games and successfully reaching the last eight. My goal in getting there is to continue to create a better atmosphere. ”

However, whether Dai Zhiwei can make his debut in the Sino-Iranian war is still inconclusive.

It's just that in such the fastest way, even at the expense of "transiting Dubai first, and then changing to a car", to a certain extent, it reflects the Chinese team's eagerness for him. Huaxia TV Sports Channel even analyzed in the daily news, "This seems to indicate that against the Iranian team on the 24th, Dai Zhiwei may play and fight." ”

The reason why they are so eager is because in Asia, the Japanese team and the Australian team are not the most troublesome opponents of the Chinese team, and the Iranian team they will face in the quarterfinals is really an insurmountable mountain for them without Dai Zhiwei.

Although Iran stopped in the group stage at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Iran has not fallen out of the top 50 since 2015, and is ranked No. 1 in Asia.

Although Japan won the Asian Cup four times and are the undisputed champions, after losing 1-2 to Iraq in the 1996 Asian Cup, Iran are unbeaten in regulation time for 23 consecutive years, playing a total of 31 games.

Although during this period, the Iranian team has never won the Asian Cup, but the knockout rounds are all because of overtime losses, or survive until the penalty shootout was eliminated by the opponent, including the 2004 semi-final penalty shootout defeat to the Chinese team, the last quarter-final penalty shootout defeat to Iraq to stop the top 8.

The myth that the Iranian team is undefeated in regular time in 31 consecutive Asian Cup games, and the record that the ranking has never fallen out of the top 6, can the Chinese team make the Persian Iron Cavalry no longer bear such a "false name" in the 1/4 finals?

Of course, as the favorite to win the Asian Cup, the Chinese team must pass the Chinese team if they want to win the championship in the end, especially when Dai Zhiwei has returned and there is no excuse, they must win.

At the press conference before the Sino-Iran war, almost all reporters' questions and photos focused on Dai Zhiwei, but Dai Zhiwei, who was tired from the journey, was a little wilted and yawned twice.

When some Chinese media were worried about his physical condition, Dai Zhiwei replied with spirit, "My body? No problem, everything works fine. I'm sure I'll be able to play against Iran, so don't worry. ”

When asked by a journalist if he needed to adapt to the local climate, he said yes: "I was here last month, and when I was in the Club World Cup, everything was fine. ”

When another reporter asked him to comment on the Iranian team's backline, he showed Wang Zhi's contempt: "Don't judge, as a striker, my duty is to score goals." ”

This is the confidence and domineering of the king!

……

Attached is the 23-man squad of the Chinese team for the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates

Goalkeepers: Yan Junling, Wang Dalei, Guo Quanbo

Defenders: Li An, Zhang Linpeng, Shi Ke, Gao Zhunyi, Liu Yang, Liu Yiming, Deng Hanwen

Midfielders: Zheng Zhi, Yu Hanchao, Huang Zichang, Hao Junmin, Chi Zhongguo, He Chao, Wu Xi, Jin Jingdao

Forwards: Dai Zhiwei, Wu Lei, Zhang Yuning, Wei Shihao, Tang Shi