Original title: Asian Cup inspires young generation, World Cup looks forward to Chinese women’s football – FIFA interview with former Chinese women’s football captain Han Duan
Han Duan, the former captain of the Chinese women’s football team and the main striker, said in an exclusive interview with FIFA recently that under the leadership of head coach Shui Qingxia, the current national team inherits the spirit of never giving up. Winning the Asian Cup will not only make next year’s World Cup highly anticipated, but will also inspire more girls to participate in football.
FIFA wrote in an exclusive interview that by any standard, the Chinese women’s football team performed very well at the Asian Cup in January this year. Although the Australian and Japanese teams are the favorites to win the championship, the Chinese team, who participated in a low-key manner, has continued to improve through each game and its confidence has also increased.
The article said that after advancing to the semi-finals and securing tickets for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Shui Qingxia’s team brought two consecutive reversal victories in the semi-final against Japan and the final against South Korea. , Since 2006, he has reached the peak of Asian football again.
“This Asian Cup, I can feel the difficulty of the players. They overcame the challenges brought by the new crown epidemic and powerful opponents, and finally won the championship, which also boosted everyone’s morale in time.” Han Duan said in an exclusive interview.
“Their success will also help increase the visibility of women’s football. In the long run, this will inspire more girls to play football.”
In the Asian Cup held in Australia in 2006, the Chinese women’s football team defeated the host in the final penalty shootout and won the championship. It was Han Duan who scored the winning penalty at that time.
In Han Duan’s view, after the new generation of “Rose” lost to Brazil and the Netherlands in the Tokyo Olympics, the new coach Shui Qingxia, who took over the team’s coaching role, has achieved positive results in the transformation of the team. Their in-depth understanding is the key to success.
“Under her guidance, the team has achieved a good balance.” Han Duan said, one performance is that the team has both the impact of young players and the experience and wisdom of veterans.
“Her tactics have also proved successful. For example, she asked Wang Shanshan to change from a star striker to a central defender to improve the team’s defense.”
Han Duan also said that the whole team performed very well in the Asian Cup, among which the returnee players have improved significantly. Tang Jiali, who played for Tottenham in the Premier League, was one of the top performers, scoring a goal and an assist in the final.
“Our players are usually very skilled, but not very physically strong. Tang Jiali is another type. She has both technique and strength, and a good sense of smell in front of goal.” Han Duan said.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will be the first time the tournament has been expanded to 32 teams. Han Duan, who has participated in two World Cups, said that from the past few events, the competition in the cup competition has continued to increase.
“A trend in women’s football is to play simple football, not to show your skills, but to find the most direct way to win. Competing with the best teams in the world, Chinese players need to work harder to improve in these areas,” she said. .
Recalling the experience of participating in the competition, Han Duan said that she was under pressure to play the World Cup for the first time, but four years later in the World Cup held in China in 2007, she was full of passion in every game. “That game is worth remembering, the fans are enthusiastic, the atmosphere is great, and the game is wonderful…”
Looking forward to next year’s World Cup, Han Duan hopes that the players can focus on their own performance. “Every player is eager to participate in the World Cup. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. According to my experience, when you step on the field, the most important thing is to do your best and enjoy the World Cup.” (Reporter Yue Dongxing Bai Xu)