At 17:30 on September 30th, Beijing time, the 2022 Women’s Basketball World Cup semi-finals will start the second game. The Chinese women’s basketball team will face the host Australian women’s basketball team. Can Zheng Wei’s team go further and advance to the final?
First of all, congratulations to the girls, they eliminated the French women’s basketball team in the quarter-finals and reached the semi-finals of the World Cup (and its predecessor, the World Championships) for the first time in 28 years. This is the third time in the history of the Chinese women’s basketball team that they have entered the World Cup semi-finals, the first was in 1983 (third place) and the second time was in 1994 (second place). It is worth mentioning that the 1994 Women’s Basketball World Championship was held in Sydney, Australia, and Zheng Wei was a national team player at the time. So Sydney is a blessed land? “I think yes, there are many fans who support us every game, which gives us a lot of motivation,” Zheng Wei said at a news conference after the quarter-finals. “I feel like playing here and at home. Same, great.”
This is the first time in 14 years that the Chinese women’s basketball team has reached the semi-finals of the Intercontinental Competition. The last time it was ranked No. 4 in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In the history of the intercontinental competition, the best result of the Chinese women’s basketball team is the second, a total of two times, in addition to the 1994 World Championships, and the 1992 Olympic Games.
This World Cup, the overall performance of the Chinese team is very stable, and both offense and defense are excellent. In the semi-finals, Zheng Wei’s team met the host Australian team. For the Chinese team, it faces a great test. Famous media personality Yang Yi predicted: “There is no doubt that there will be a home whistle.” Australia eliminated Belgium in another quarter-final. This time at home, the Australian team opened low and walked high. They lost to the French team 57-70 in the first game of the group stage. After that, they won 5 consecutive victories. In fact, in order to achieve good results at home, the Australian team deliberately recalled 41-year-old Lauren Jackson. This veteran is not just a transfer and a united locker room. She has proved that she can still fight. In the quarter-finals, Jackson played 14 minutes and scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Obviously, the Chinese team can not ignore the 1.95 meters center.
The Chinese and Australian teams have played against each other 6 times on the World Cup stage, with 3 wins and 3 losses each, but the Australian team has won the last 3 times. The two sides have also met twice in the Asian Cup, with the Chinese team winning both in 2019 and 2021. In addition, in the warm-up match before this World Cup, as well as last year’s Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese team defeated the Australian team twice. Now this Chinese women’s rebounding bench is very deep, and the main players such as Li Meng, Han Xu and Li Yueru are at their best. So the semi-final is by no means the goal of the Chinese women’s basketball team. “In Sydney in 1994, we actually had a chance to hit the championship,” Zheng Wei said, “but unfortunately I missed that opportunity. So this time, I really want to lead the team to the top. farther.”
The Chinese team and the Australian team are familiar with and understand each other, so it is very important to play on the spot, which will test Zheng Wei’s on-site command and response. Judging from the quarter-finals, the Chinese team still had a 10-player rotation when facing the pursuit of the French team. It can be seen that the gap between the main force and the substitute is very small. effect. In contrast, the Australian team’s bench is slightly inferior to the Chinese team. Another point, the rotation of the Chinese team is also dominant; but the Australian team is not afraid of physical confrontation, they also have height, but also sit on the home field advantage.
When predicting the semi-finals, Zheng Wei said: “Australia is a very strong team. We have played against each other many times, and both sides know each other. I think we will cherish this game, and we will study our opponents well to strive for Play the next game well.”
As the National Day holiday is approaching, can the Chinese women’s basketball team surprise the people of the country in the semifinals? let us wait and see! (jim)Return to Sohu, see more
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