With three days to go before the opening match of the China Cup, the coaches and players of the three teams of Japan, Denmark and France have arrived. None of the three opponents this year sent a second team to go through the motions. Pogba, Olivier Giroud, Andreas Christensen, Bendtner, Shinji Kagawa and other big names all came to the tournament.

Last year's inaugural China Cup was held in January, coinciding with the winter break of the top five leagues and not being part of the FIFA-mandated international break, when Iceland, Croatia and Chile, including the Chinese team, opted to field young players. Obviously, contrary to the original intention of the establishment of the China Cup, this year the time was adjusted to the international break in March, and all of a sudden there were big names, and the star flavor of the China Cup was much stronger.

Of course, there is another fundamental reason. After rushing into the World Cup again, these strong teams also regarded the Chinese team as a qualified opponent, and no longer thought that the warm-up with the Chinese team was very poor and perfunctory.

The football world is so simple that the strong are respected, and in the final analysis, this is the importance and respect of the national team itself.

In addition to paying attention to our own national team, Chinese journalists are also very concerned about Japan's main national team, which has 14 players in Europe. From the first moment of arrival in Nanning, the Japanese team was exposed to the camera at any time.

Although Chinese fans hate Japan so much, the sad thing is that the national team has not even had a chance to meet Japan's main team once for a long time. The Asian Cup and the round of 12 were not grouped, and only the East Asian Cup had a chance to meet. However, Japan has always regarded the East Asian Cup as an event to examine young players, and players in Europe will not come back to participate.

Most reporters feel that the Japanese team's recall of all overseas international players this time is also because of the value of the China Cup to prepare for the World Cup, especially the French team, one of the favorites to win the World Cup, which is also star-studded. However, Japanese coach Halilhodzic has a high emotional intelligence, and before playing against the Chinese team, he said a compliment.

"I have to admit that playing in the China Cup is really helpful in preparing for the World Cup in a few months' time," Khalihodzic said. But that's not why we're all in the race. All three opponents were strong and we couldn't get any of them a win just by relying on our home internationals. ”

Hearing these words in the ears of Chinese reporters, my heart was refreshed for a while, Halilhodzic sat on the main force, and directly admitted that the Chinese team is very strong, which made the reporters who have been lacking confidence in the international arena for a long time find a bit of pride from their opponents.

Speaking about the upcoming match against China, Halilhodzic said: "It will be very difficult, this Chinese team is not at the same level as the Chinese team we beat in the East Asian Cup three months ago. They have two very good overseas players, especially Wen Zhihao. It's going to test our midfield attacking and defending. But we will prove that football is a team sport of eleven people, and one or two players who stand out are not enough to make the difference in the final outcome. ”

Halilhodzic was confident of winning the game while complimenting the strength of the Chinese team. The Japanese team's short passing and control are quasi-first-class in the world. Not to mention in Asia, where no team can match it yet. A few years ago, when Barcelona's Tiki-Taka style of play was popular all over the world, the Japanese team even got the nickname "Asian Barcelona", which shows its overall passing and control heritage.

Although everyone thinks that this is the opportunity for the Chinese team to break the curse of "fear of the sun", there is no shortage in their hearts. If the opponent's passing rhythm cannot be disrupted, and the ball is always controlled by the opponent, the Chinese team will definitely be in a state of passive beating.

At the same time, to disrupt the overall passing control of the Japanese team, it takes a lot of physical energy to actively counter-attack on the defensive end, and physical fitness has not always been the strong point of the Chinese team. Wen Zhihao's counter-attacking ability is indeed strong, but the important reason is that the midfielders maintain the intensity of running and pressing at all times. The national team is not Atletico Madrid, and the midfielder cannot have the high intensity from beginning to end to ensure that Wen Zhihao can fight back at any time.

It looks like a very awkward dilemma. No wonder Halilhodzic is confident, as if this is indeed a difficult game to solve.

Again, Lippi's tactical design will be tested.

……

An hour before the game, the Japanese team first announced the starting lineup.

Japan's starting line-up was a 4-4-2 formation. Halilhodzic sent six returnees. Goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima plays for Ligue 1 side Metz, centre-back Maya Yoshida plays for Southampton, right-back Yu Nagatomo is at Inter Milan, Shinji Kagawa is at Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, striker Keisuke Honda has moved from AC Milan to Pachuca in Mexico this season, and Genki Haraguchi has played for Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga.

The ratio of returnees in the starting lineup of the two sides reached 2 to 6, and the opponent still sat on the field with a new generation of returnees such as Shibasaki Yue, Hotaru Yamaguchi, and Asano Takuma.

In terms of the luxury of the lineup, the Chinese team is obviously worse.

However, football games never look at the origin and value of the players, and this makes everyone have two more points to look forward to, the opponent's main force is exhausted, if the national team can still win, isn't it more convincing?

Lippi said that no one in the Asian Chinese team should be afraid, breaking the Korean phobia is only the first step, and the Japanese team is also an opponent that cannot be avoided.

Japan may be in a 4-4-2 formation, but their style of play is like being on the table for everyone. The real suspense is on the Chinese side, and how Lippi will set up his formation to counter the opponent's ground penetration is the biggest mystery, and it is related to the success or failure of the whole game.

Twenty minutes after the Japanese team announced its starters, the Chinese team's starting list was announced.

Lippi changed the 4-3-3 formation commonly used by the Chinese team in the round of 12 into a 4-2-3-1 formation, which, as media fans thought, was a special arrangement for the Japanese midfield. Liang Xin and veteran captain Zheng Zhi partnered in a defensive midfielder to build a barrier in front of the central defender. Wen Zhihao's position is that of an attacking midfielder. On either side of him are two players who can fight and run well, Yin Hongbo and Wuqiu Wang. The protruding arrow is Yu Dabao.

Including the midfielders are the type who can fight and run well, and the first feeling for everyone is that the two sides are definitely fighting for every inch of land today.

However, the Japanese team, which still had the ball in the opening stage, quickly grasped the initiative, and everyone thought that the Chinese team would take the initiative to press, perhaps from the opponent's backline. Put pressure on the Japanese team.

And Lippi once again subverted everyone's cognition, the double back Zheng Zhi and Liang Xin firmly guarded their own half, and only Wen Zhihao was left alone in the middle circle arc, without the slightest intention of taking the initiative to increase the intensity.

Interestingly, for the "meeting gift" that the Chinese team took the initiative to send, the Japanese team also seemed to be reciprocating gifts, and was not in a hurry to launch an offensive formation. The ball was frequently returned and crossed in the Japanese team's half.

The only data that grew the fastest in the first five minutes was the Japanese team's possession rate, which was as high as 74%, and He Wei couldn't help but joke that Asian Barcelona really deserved its name......