Although it took 12 years to enter the World Cup finals again, for the group draw of the Chinese team, almost everyone agreed that it was unfavorable for the passing year, and the next sign was signed.

Germany, Mexico, Sweden and China, this is the group lineup of the Chinese team.

Defending champion, four-time cup champion, semi-finals for four consecutive years, and number one in the world rankings...... The outside world believes that the German team is considered an upset if they are forced to draw one game in the group stage.

The Mexican team, which is participating in the World Cup for the 16th time, is second only to Brazil, Germany, Italy, and Argentina in terms of qualifications. However, the accumulation of quantity has never been able to bring a qualitative leap, and its best result is to reach the quarterfinals twice as the host. Since the 1994 World Cup in the United States, the Mexican team has qualified from the group for 6 consecutive times, and has also been a "16 lang" for 6 consecutive times, becoming a "constant temperature landscape" in the World Cup.

If Mexico wants to break the "curse of the round of 16" in this tournament, they must first pass Sweden and try to qualify from the group.

At the turn of the millennium, Sweden, who had won one runner-up and two third-place finishes, had a mediocre performance. However, in the qualifiers, the "Vikings" became the giants' finishers, not only squeezing out the uncrowned king of the Netherlands to enter the play-offs, but also eliminated the four-time champion Italy in the play-offs, returning to the World Cup after 12 years.

As for the future of the Chinese team's group, even Chinese reporters believe that this time the "Dragon Team" will be drawn, and it may still be difficult to go further after the group stage.

But regardless of whether they can qualify or not, the Chinese Football Association must be fully prepared, because they have learned from some sources that this time the Chinese team's World Cup journey, the number one leader will always pay attention.

To some extent, the performance of the Chinese team in the World Cup will directly determine the future of the senior management of the Football Association.

For this World Cup, the Chinese Football Association has also come up with all tricks.

First of all, the Super League schedule was directly adjusted.

Although the 2018 Chinese Super League is still 30 rounds of matches, the start of the game was 1 month earlier, and the first round of matches started on February 2, and even during the Chinese New Year, it was only suspended for a week, and the end was postponed for more than half a month, and it was not closed until December 23.

In this way, one after the other, coupled with the two-week double matches after the start of July, can be regarded as creating a two-month summer break for the Chinese Super League, leaving a full May and June for the Chinese team.

In addition to adjusting the Chinese Super League schedule, the Chinese Football Association also found several suitable warm-up opponents for the Chinese team before the World Cup, namely Chile, which is the same American team as Mexico, Switzerland, which is close to Sweden and has a similar style, the Netherlands, which is also an old world-class team, and Wales, which has a superstar like Bale.

In addition, the Chinese Football Association has contacted the hotel, training venue, and special plane where the Chinese team will stay during the World Cup half a year in advance......

According to the domestic network name, although our football ranks last in the top 32 of the World Cup, we have to strive to be No. 1 in all aspects of logistics!

Even, Dai Zhiwei got the news from Jinchang, and I don't know which Football Association bigwig also put forward the idea of letting the domestic international players selected for the national team participate in military training, and it was unanimously agreed.

After entering the training squad in May, the internationals will first participate in a 10-day military training with instructors from the first-class meritorious special forces. This military training is very strict, 40,000 meters of long-distance running, 12 hours of training and so on.

The last time the Chinese team conducted military training was in 2007, and they conducted military training in Guangzhou 11 years ago. One of the factors is also because the director of the management center of the Chinese team was Xie Yalong, and he was born in track and field. He believed that the Chinese team needed to conduct intensive training to better enhance the team's cohesion and comprehensive ability, so at his request and some other factors, the Chinese team launched military training.

At that time, the content of military training included platoon training, 28-kilometer rapid march, emergency assembly, live-fire training, picnics and night marches. Even Nan Yong, vice chairman of the Chinese Team Association, made a special trip from Beijing to Guangzhou to review the results of the national team's military training performance.

However, after the military training, from the UAE Invitational Tournament in early 2008 to the East Asian semi-finals, the Chinese team lost to Japan, South Korea and other teams, and the poor performance of the players was embarrassing. In the most important World Cup Asian top 20 match, the Chinese team announced that it would not participate in the World Cup with 1 win, 3 draws and 2 losses, and the unsatisfactory performance really disappointed the fans.

The only good news is because the Premier League schedule ended late, and by the time Dai Zhiwei arrived at the national team, the military training had already ended, so he didn't have to participate in military training, and Wu Lei, who also joined Villarreal this season, also escaped.

In mid-March, the Chinese team's preparation for the World Cup in Russia will kick off, and the first warm-up match opponent is the Wales team.

On the afternoon of March 20, the Chinese team and the Welsh team respectively conducted training before the opening match of the China Cup at the Guangxi Sports Center. The Chinese team started the training session with fun, while the Welsh team closed the whole training session to the outside world.

This "loose and tight" state of preparation may also reflect the psychological gap between the two teams.

Wales were the first to arrive at the venue yesterday afternoon, with their head coach Ryan Giggs and captain Ashley in front of the pre-match press conference. Giggs expressed his desire to lead the team to play well in the China Cup, saying: "The climate in Nanning is good, the field conditions are very advanced, I have been in charge for two months, and this game is a test for the team and myself. I believe taking over Wales was the right decision. ”

Giggs also mentioned Dai Zhiwei and the Chinese manager Lippi: "I heard that the Chinese team is still a good team because there is Dai Zhiwei who plays for Manchester United, he is one of the best players in the world today, and I am very happy to play against him on the pitch! I also know their manager, I played against Juventus when I was a player. I think with Dai and Lippi, the Chinese team should have a good result in this year's World Cup. ”

Giggs's candid can't hide the 'nervousness' of the Wales team, with a male press officer issuing a "warning" before the official start of the press conference: "All questions must not be related to club issues, only questions related to the preparation of the Welsh team, matches and the China Cup".

In this regard, some on-site media reporters interpreted that it was the factor of "coaching the first game of the Welsh team" that led to the current tense atmosphere of the team's preparation. It's no wonder that some British media reporters on the scene also asked Giggs, "Is there any player who makes you feel difficult to get along with", it seems that Giggs also needs to use victory to prove whether he is competent.

The whole training of the Welsh team after the press conference was closed to the outside world, which also seemed to send a signal that in the face of the Chinese team, the goal of the Welsh team was not just "ordinary communication", but to win with all their might.

The pre-match preparations for the Chinese team gave people a sense of openness, each member of the team was greeted by local fans when they entered, Lippi and his assistants were also happily setting up the training equipment, and the players even completed the team assembly in an almost chasive way, and started the training content with a fun game of grabbing the circle.

Even Dai Zhiwei, who had just returned from England, did not appear in the first day of training, but continued to adjust to the jet lag in the hotel.

With the players fresh out of a tense league campaign, Lippi needs to give further consideration to who to start today.

However, from the perspective of the World Cup warm-up match, the Chinese team should not play conservatively tonight, but in view of the fact that the opponent has a "cutting-edge offensive weapon" like Bale, the Chinese team still needs to "make a fuss" in defense.

Judging from the training in the past two days, the veterans who played the main role in the round of 12 will still play the leading role in tonight's game.

The Chinese Football Association also attaches great importance to the first game of the Chinese team's World Cup warm-up match, and Du Baocai, a senior official of the association, and Cai Yong, a full-time executive committee member in charge of the national team, will appear at tonight's game site to cheer for the Chinese team.

In the training on the day before the game, Dai Zhiwei, who had been waiting for a long time, finally went to the training ground with the team in a battery car, and the popularity was overwhelming, attracting everyone to take pictures.

Just three days earlier, he had played almost the full game in the FA Cup when Manchester United hosted Brighton in the quarter-finals.

At home to Brighton, United lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. In goal, a midfield of Sergio Romero, Scott McTomini, Juan Mata and Anthony Martial needed to provide strong support up front, and up front Dai Zhiwei was waiting for an opportunity.

Brighton, on the other hand, set up a 4-3-3 formation. In the goalkeeper position is Krull. In midfield, Gross, Kayar and Proper will need to provide ammunition up front.

Facing Manchester United, who are more powerful than themselves, Brighton put on an iron bucket formation to stand by, while the Red Devils have few options.

It wasn't until the 38th minute that Manchester United got a corner kick opportunity and it was Nemanja Matic who opened the scoring, 1:0!

Brighton still played tenaciously in the rematch, but the disadvantage in strength made their attack futile, and Dai Zhiwei took advantage of the counter-attack opportunity to complete a long drive in the 83rd minute to seal the victory for Manchester United.

In the end, Manchester United defeated Brighton 2-0 at full-time and successfully advanced to the last four of the FA Cup.

Dai Zhiwei, who played almost the whole FA Cup match against Brighton, has dropped back in form after returning home after a tired ride, so he seems to be a little slow to warm up in the warm-up match against Wales.

And his slow heat made the Chinese team completely fall into a comprehensive passivity.

At the Guangxi Sports Center, just 3 minutes into the game, the European "Red Dragon" took the lead in scoring!

Welsh goalkeeper Hennessey made a long pass from the backfield, Bale got the ball outside the penalty area, forced past Feng Xiaoting, who was marking, and pushed the goal when he lost his balance, and the Chinese team fell behind 0:1!

However, today's Chinese team is no longer the Chinese team in the same period of the previous life, after entering the finals of the World Cup in Russia, every international player has a sense of honor and devotion to represent the Chinese team far more than before, plus Wu Lei who practiced in Villarreal, and Dai Zhiwei, whose personal ability is slightly better than Melo, today's Chinese team can be called the strongest in history!

In the 12th minute, the Chinese team formed an offensive at the front of the Welsh penalty area, Gao Lin delivered a cross from the left, and after the opening, Dai Zhiwei, who could not find the excitement, failed to compete for the top in front, and Wu Lei shot slightly above the goal.

It's a pity that the Chinese team made too many mistakes, and in the 27th minute, it was Gao Lin who made a mistake when she returned the pass, so that the "Great Sage" Bell received Andy King's ball, and hit the next city with a single push, and the Chinese team fell behind 0:2!

Fortunately, 7 minutes later, Dai Zhiwei finally recovered, and he tried his best to find the state of the game, he received Wu Lei's ball, and shot a tiger shot on the right side of the penalty area, penetrating the ten fingers of Welsh goalkeeper Hennessey, and rewriting the score to 1:2.

Seeing the Chinese team score, and it was Dai Zhiwei's goal, the fans of the Guangxi Sports Center began to cheer continuously, and the atmosphere became more and more enthusiastic.

Just when the first half of the game entered injury time, the Chinese team habitually showed a little slackness on the field, and Wales took advantage of this opportunity to teach them a lesson.

Just when the referee began to look at the watch, Wales crossed the penalty area diagonally from the right, Andy King's header was ferried, Vokes grabbed a light pad, the ball flew into the far corner, and the Chinese team was hit again at the end of the first half, and entered the break with a score of 1:3!

Yibian fought again, the coach of the Chinese team, Lippi, changed 3 people in a row, Li Xuepeng, Zhao Xuyang, and Yu Hanchao came off the bench, and the Chinese team changed to a three-center-back formation.

And this change of formation also had an immediate effect. After switching sides, the Chinese team showed a completely different mental outlook than in the first half, and the players showed more aggression.

In the 56th minute, Yu Hanchao broke through and passed the ball into the penalty area, Dai Zhiwei used his speed to shake off the Welsh defenders who were marking, jumped up and volleyed, the football was like a sharp arrow to the goal, and the goalkeeper had no time to react.

Dai Zhiwei scored twice, and the Chinese team was still behind 2:3.

After joining Villarreal, the 26-year-old Wu Lei seems to be back to 18 years old, growing at an amazing rate, after Bakambu left the team to join Beijing Guoan during the winter break, he has secured the position of Villarreal's first striker, and now faces the Welsh backline, which is not false at all.

In the 73rd minute, it was Wu Lei and Dai Zhiwei who made a small cooperation in the front court, and Dai Zhiwei got a chance to kick up after a two-to-one on the right side of the penalty area, and finally sent the football into the goal.

3:3, the Chinese team finally equalized!

After the equalizer, under the leadership of Dai Zhiwei, the Chinese team began an offensive like a tide, trying to cut Wales under the knife, but unfortunately the good times did not last long, and the good momentum of the Chinese team was stifled by the opponent's goal.

In the 82nd minute, the Welsh defenders delivered a long pass over the top in the backfield, Bale successfully countered offside, entered the penalty area, scored a low shot into the far corner, and scored a hat trick, and the Chinese team fell behind again 3:4!

With this goal, Bale surpassed legendary goalscorer Ian Rush to become the top scorer of the Welsh national team.

Subsequently, Wales coach Ryan Giggs also made three substitutions in a row, and Bale, who completed his hat-trick, was replaced by team-mate Woodburn.

In stoppage time, the Chinese team got a great chance to draw the game, Yu Hanchao continued to dribble horizontally in the penalty area, and then made an arc, but unfortunately the ball was hit the post by goalkeeper Hennessey with a single palm, which was also the last shot of the game between the two teams.

In the end, the Chinese team lost to the Wales team 3:4, and the World Cup warm-up match suffered a black start.

However, Dai Zhiwei and Lippi were both very satisfied with the game, after all, except for Dai Zhiwei, the gap between the Chinese team and Wales was all-round, but this game gave them hope.

(End of chapter)