Li urges fans to keep faith

With zero points and no goals to show from its opening two matches in the final phase of Asian zone qualifying, Team China is now in desperate need of a victory to keep alive its slim hopes of reaching the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Head coach Li Tie insists defeats over higher-ranked Australia and Japan over the last week are part of a learning curve for his squad, and has attempted to reassure fans a better result is on the way when China faces Vietnam in its third Group B game next month.

"I really want to thank all our players for their efforts. Through these matches, we have realized the gap between us and the top Asian teams," said Li following Tuesday night's 1-0 defeat to Japan in Doha that left his team bottom of Group B.

"We now have a clearer understanding of the position of our team in Asia. We will adjust the squad over the next month, and I believe we will have a better performance in the third qualifier."

With the top two finishers in each group earning direct World Cup qualification, China's only realistic chance of reaching the finals in Qatar would appear to be via a third-place finish, which would book a spot in an intercontinental playoff.

Anything less than a victory over Vietnam, which also opened its final-phase campaign with two losses, on Oct 7 would leave Li's men needing a miracle to qualify. Five days later, China takes on Saudi Arabia, before facing Oman and Australia in November.

"I hope the Team China players can treat each of these World Cup qualifiers like the final match of their career. And they should have the same mentality when they play against Vietnam," said Li.

"In the coming months, we will train really hard, and make sure our players are in better physical condition. If possible, we will try to arrange some friendlies against strong teams.

"The gap between us and the top Asian teams, especially in terms of pace and speed, is clear and we are now more focused on the areas where we need to improve."

While many fans were frustrated by China's lack of attacking threat, Li's containing tactics did at least restrict a dominant Japanese side to a solitary goal－a 40th-minute Yuya Osako strike.

China's back five also had to cope with the fifth-minute loss of key defender Zhang Linpeng through injury. Zhang's replacement, under-21 player Zhu Chenjie, applied himself admirably off the bench.

Japan captain Maya Yoshida admitted his team struggled to break down the stubborn Chinese rearguard.

"Yes, we have three points, but we are not satisfied with our performance during this match as we only managed to win 1-0. I think we should score more goals," he said.

"We faced intense defense from the Chinese team. Our plan was to be patient and break their defense down from both wings. We did manage some penetrative passes, but it's not easy to break down such a defense."

Yoshida's team surprisingly lost its opener 1-0 to Oman, and he added: "We need to win more points. Before that match against China, we were under huge pressure.

"But we made preparations in terms of our mentality, and we showed our strength."

Fans on Weibo, where the hashtag "Team China vs Japan" had been viewed over 550 million times by Wednesday morning, greeted the defeat with a now familiar mix of disappointment and resignation.

Former Team China head coach Bora Milutinovic, who steered the national squad to its only World Cup finals appearance in 2002, urged fans not to lose hope just yet.

"How I can be happy (on my birthday) because our team lost today," said Milutinovic, who turned 77 on Tuesday.

"We lost the second game and we haven't scored any goals yet. I'm really unhappy, but you need to believe in yourself. You still have 24 more points to fight for. You need to fight and find your place to become the best third team to advance from Group B."

Selection controversy

The Chinese Football Association's policy of using naturalized players has never been far from controversy since being introduced in 2019.

The strategy's long-term impact on the national team has often been called into question, and now Li's apparent unwillingness to use certain imported players has prompted fans to wonder if it is even being properly implemented on a short-term basis.

Li faced criticism when Brazil-born attackers Alan and Luo Guofu (aka Aloisio) were unused substitutes in the 3-0 loss to Australia.

Both players entered the fray against Japan in the 62nd minute－too late by many observers' watches.

Their additions clearly injected much-needed pace into Team China's play and asked more questions of the Japanese.

Li, who started Brazil-born Ai Kesen (aka Elkeson) and England-born Jiang Guangtai (aka Tyias Browning) on Tuesday, stood by his team selection after the game.

"All the players in the national team are the same to me. If they have managed to enter the national team, that means they are the best players in the country," said Li.

"I don't think it's a case of having a group of core players and a separate group of substitutes in the team. We simply select players according to the demands of each game."

For his part, Luo seemed to think he impressed enough to warrant a spot in Li's starting XI against Vietnam.

"It's an honor to wear the national team jersey and play for Team China, but the result was not what I wanted. Winning is the only goal once I step onto the pitch," said Luo.

"I hope everyone can see I play with total fighting spirit. My motivation is the support from the fans."

Team China goalkeeper Yan Junling backed the imported contingent, saying: "Naturalized players came to fight with us to win for our nation. They have showed the same desire for victory as all the players in the team. After the last defeat to Australia, the coaching team devised a specific plan to go with five defenders, and for the most part we withstood the attacks from the Japanese team."