Champion’s Heart

Because of the European Cup, this season's European League ended quite early, in mid-May.

But this does not mean that Zhou Yi can enjoy more vacations. In fact, his vacation may only be more than ten days, because on June 3, the top ten Asian qualifiers for the Brazilian World Cup will be fully launched.

The Chinese team that entered the top ten was assigned to Group B. In the same group with them were Japan, Australia, Oman and Qatar.

After the group results came out, some Chinese media exclaimed that the Chinese team had been assigned to the group of death. Then he was mercilessly ridiculed by fans online - for the Chinese team, is there a group that is not the group of death?

The first top ten game started on June 3, when the Chinese team challenged Qatar away from home.

The second top ten game was on the evening of June 12, when the Chinese team faced Oman at home.

If the Chinese team wants to get the right to qualify from the top ten, they have to finish third in the group at the worst, and then decide the winner with the third place in Group A, and the winner will go to the fifth place in South America. Compete for the final right to qualify.

If we prepare according to the goal of third place in the group, these two games with Qatar and Oman are crucial and must be won, no matter home or away.

There are a total of five teams in a group. In addition to the Chinese team itself, there are four teams. These four teams are all opponents of the Chinese team. Japan and Australia are very difficult to crack. It is difficult to win against them. Under such circumstances, if the Chinese team can no longer win from Oman and Qatar, In terms of points, it is almost impossible to be third in the group.

The first opponent the Chinese team encountered in the top ten was Qatar, which is also a very interesting thing.

Especially those reporters who participated in covering the top 20 matches of the Chinese team will definitely remember the grudge between a Qatari reporter and Zhou Yi.

So just after the results of this grouping were released, the Chinese media exposed the behavior of the Qatari bearded reporter, which caused a heated discussion among domestic fans.

Many netizens commented that they had never seen such a shameless person.

But this is not the point. The point is that when the Chinese reporter confronted the opponent, he once asked the opponent to pray that Iraq or Qatar would not encounter the Chinese team in the top ten.

At the time, these words sounded like an angry remark.

I didn't expect that such an angry remark would turn out to be a prophecy!

The Chinese team was really grouped with Qatar in the top ten!

Chinese fans who knew the cause were angrily clamoring for revenge against Qatar.

You must teach the bitch a lesson!

Now the opportunity has come.

When Zhou Yi went to the national team for training, he was asked this question by reporters.

He asked in confusion: Is there still such a thing?

Of course, as a player, he would have no way of knowing what happened in the media box.

But now he knows.

What a coincidence. After listening to the reporter telling the whole story, Zhou Yi said in deep thought, stroking his chin.

Then he laughed: What did you say?

Before the reporter could think about it, he said it himself again: Don't say you didn't predict what you said! Haha!

In this way, Zhou Yi said goodbye to the reporters with a big smile, leaving a group of reporters looking at each other, not quite understanding what Zhou Yi's words and smile meant.

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This game was played at home in Qatar, and the Chinese team played away. Since it is an away game, it involves accommodation issues.

The Chinese team chose to stay in the hotel where they stayed when they last defeated Iraq in an away game.

This time, Qatar did not use the hotel decoration as an excuse to refuse the Chinese team's stay. Perhaps they themselves feel that it would be unjustifiable to use the same excuse again.

After arriving in Takal, Zhou Yi was surrounded by reporters from China and Qatar at the airport. Facing these reporters, Zhou Yi said: I am very happy that our first top ten game was played in Qatar. As we all know, here It’s our blessed place. We have very good memories here.”

This is not the first time Zhou Yi has said this. Since the Asian Cup, he has said these words every time he comes to Qatar. Everyone knows what these words mean.

The Chinese reporters who interviewed him burst out laughing.

I also have a very good impression of the country Qatar. What makes me most satisfied is the work they did in hosting the competition. This time, the hotel we stayed in was finally not decorated, which is great. !Thank you to the Qatar Football Association for your preparations for this match, thank you!

After saying that, Zhou Yi waved his hand and walked away.

A group of Chinese reporters were left laughing uncontrollably, and a somewhat embarrassed Qatari reporter was left behind.

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It is said that in a local television program in Qatar that night, a guest criticized Zhou Yi for being impolite and lacking in grace.

However, Zhou Yi did not watch TV in the hotel. Even if he did, he would not understand the Arabic spoken by the Qataris. So these criticisms mean nothing to him.

But it still makes sense for Qatari media.

Since the Asian Cup in 2011, Zhou Yi and Qatar have been at odds. In the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers, there are always some sparks between Zhou Yi and Qatar.

They are all still controversial topics.

For example, Zhou Yi ridiculed Qatar about the hotel issue when the Chinese team played against Iraq last time.

This made the Qatari media very unhappy. This time, Zhou Yi once again criticized Qatar's petty-mindedness in front of Qatari reporters. This was not saving any face for the host...

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In fact, judging from the history of the confrontation between the Chinese and Qatar teams, the Chinese team has the advantage in terms of overall record. From the perspective of the national team, before this game, the Chinese team and the Qatar national team had played against each other fourteen times, with a record of six wins, four draws and four losses, giving them the upper hand.

But at the World Cup qualifying level, the Chinese team has one win, three draws and three losses and is at an absolute disadvantage. It can be said that many wonderful and classic stories were born between the Chinese team and Qatar in the World Cup qualifiers.

For example, the famous Three Black Minutes has a shadow of Qatar. In the 1989 World Cup qualifiers, the Chinese team and five other teams played a round-robin match in Singapore. The top two teams in points won tickets to the World Cup. Moreover, the World Cup preliminaries at that time also adopted the two-point system, which means that winning will be awarded two points instead of three points. Teams with the same score will first compare the goal difference and number of goals scored, and then compare the winning and losing relationships.

After four rounds, the South Korean team qualified early with seven points, the UAE ranked second with five points, the Chinese team ranked third with four points, North Korea and Qatar both scored three points, and Saudi Arabia with only two points was eliminated early. In the penultimate round, the Chinese team faced the black three minutes for the first time against the United Arab Emirates. With a 1:0 lead and five minutes left in the game, head coach Gao Fengwen replaced Dong Liqiang. He was excited after taking the field. Dong Liqiang, who was overdone, made two consecutive mistakes with the ball. After being intercepted by the opponent, he counterattacked and conceded two goals in three minutes, thus losing the game.

If the Chinese team could win the United Arab Emirates at that time, it would surpass the United Arab Emirates by two points. It would only need a tie in the final round to qualify, and the game against Qatar would not be so important.

But now the Chinese team has to fight with Qatar, and it depends on the results of the match between the UAE and South Korea.

In the match against Qatar, the Chinese team still scored the first goal, leading 1:0. However, in the last three minutes of the game, the Chinese team once again encountered the black three minutes and suffered a tragic reversal as Qatar scored two goals in a row. And you must know that in another game that was played at the same time, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates drew 1:1. If the Chinese team can hold on to the last three minutes, it will be the Chinese team that advances to Italy. It can be said that the Chinese team is only three minutes away from the World Cup. That may be the closest the Chinese team has come to the World Cup before the World Cup in Japan and South Korea...

This is the first time that the Chinese team has suffered in Qatar.

The second time was at Dalian Jinzhou Stadium in 1997. After the Chinese team took a one-goal lead at home, Qatar scored three goals in a row and lost the game. This game was a turning point in the Chinese team's failure to qualify for the World Cup in France. In the end, the Chinese team ranked third in the group, and the phrase Golden State does not believe in tears spread throughout China and became one of the black memories of Chinese football.

In 2002, the Chinese team finally tasted the joy of victory in Qatar. They advanced to the World Cup finals one round early and welcomed Qatar at home. In that game, the Chinese team defeated Qatar 3:0. It was also the first time and only victory for the Chinese team in the history of World Cup qualifying.

In the 2010 South Africa World Cup qualifiers, in the top 20, the Chinese team met Qatar again, drawing 0:0 away from Qatar, but lost to Qatar 0:1 at home. In the end, the Chinese team finished last in the group stage and was eliminated without even making it to the top ten.

It can be said that in the process of Chinese football's impact on the World Cup, Qatar's accompaniment is always indispensable. At the same time, it can also be said that Qatar is the touchstone for the Chinese team. In 2001, the only time they defeated Qatar, the Chinese team successfully reached the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea. In other qualifiers that did not win against Qatar, they all missed the World Cup finals.

From a superstitious perspective, if the Chinese team can defeat Qatar this time, it may be able to successfully enter the World Cup finals. (~^~)