After the opening match, we rested for a night and the first match of the next day was the second match of Group A: China VS Kuwait.
Because of the anticipated difficulties in the match against host Qatar, the match between China and Kuwait was bound to be decided. Both sides wanted to defeat their opponents and win three points to lay a good foundation for qualifying for the group.
Therefore, both teams played with their main players. The Chinese team used a 541 formation, with the starting players being:
No. 1 goalkeeper Yang Zhi, No. 2 left back Li Xuepeng, No. 3 center back Wang Qiang, No. 4 center back Zhao Peng, No. 5 center back Du Wei, No. 17 right back Zhang Linpeng, No. 11 left midfielder Deng Zhuoxiang, No. 7 defensive midfielder Zhao Xuri, No. 8 right midfielder Hao Junmin, No. 10 attacking midfielder Zheng Zhi, and No. 6 forward Lu Wenbin.
In the current FIFA world rankings, China ranks 79th and 6th in Asia; Kuwait ranks 99th in the world and 9th in Asia.
According to the FIFA rankings, the Chinese team is stronger than Kuwait.
But Kuwait itself is a Middle Eastern country, so it can be said to be playing at half home ground, and its adaptability to weather, stadiums, etc. is better than that of China.
Therefore, this game will not be easy for the Chinese team.
On the afternoon of January 8th local time, the Al Gharafa Stadium in Doha, which can accommodate more than 20,000 people, was packed. There were nearly 10,000 Chinese fans and local Chinese who came from all over the country.
The rest was filled by Kuwaiti fans, local Qatari fans, and Lu Wenbin's personal fans.
Chinese fans are full of expectations for this Asian Cup. The stands are filled with five-star red flags and banners with slogans such as "Come on China" and "China will win".
During the pre-match warm-up, the cheers from the Chinese fans completely overwhelmed those of Kuwait.
Although Kuwait is also in the Middle East and is closer to China, their population is smaller than that of China, resulting in far fewer fans coming to the scene than that of China.
As for the remaining local Qatari fans, many of them are cheering for China and Lu Wenbin because of Lu Wenbin.
At 16:05, players from both teams came out under the leadership of the referee, and then the national anthem was played, handshakes were made, and sides were chosen, and the game was about to begin.
At 16:15 local time on January 8, Australian referee Williams blew the whistle and the second group match of the first round of Group A of the 2011 Qatar Asian Cup, China VS Kuwait, officially began.
Although the Chinese team played a defensive counterattack in formation, they pressed forward as a whole after the start of the game. Deng Zhuoxiang, Hao Junmin and Zheng Zhi in the frontcourt launched an offensive under the leadership of Lu Wenbin.
On the one hand, it is because the opponent Kuwait is not very strong, and on the other hand, it is because of the situation after Qatar lost to Uzbekistan in the opening match.
The Chinese team must not only win, but also win big and strive for more goals.
Facing Kuwait, which is in fourth place in the group, the Chinese team must attack and strive for a big victory.
Kuwait has the same idea as the Chinese team, they also want to win the game and get more goals.
Therefore, at the beginning of the game, both sides started to attack each other, which made the neutral Qatari fans quite excited.
In the 4th minute, Deng Zhuoxiang suddenly made a long diagonal pass to the penalty area from the wing, catching Kuwait off guard.
However, the pass wasn't placed very well.
Although Lu Wenbin rushed into the penalty area and knocked away the Kuwaiti defender to the first point, he could not choose the angle. The header was saved by Kuwaiti goalkeeper Khalidi, and the Chinese team won a corner kick.
Subsequently, Zhang Linpeng's corner kick did not result in a shot and was blocked out of the penalty area by Kuwait.
However, just one minute later, the Chinese team made a comeback.
After Lu Wenbin retreated and got the ball, he drove straight into the penalty area, passing two people and causing chaos in Kuwait. He then crossed the middle and Zheng Zhi made a volley, but the ball went slightly wide of the goal.
Zheng Zhi's shooting technique was still quite poor. His shot in the penalty area without any interference failed to hit the goal frame, which made Zheng Zhi quite embarrassed.
Lu Wenbin shook his head and continued to lead his team to attack.
Being a member of the Chinese team, Lu Wenbin was well prepared for this.
The Chinese team's weak forward force is a chronic problem, and it is common for them to miss empty goals. This is not something that has only happened today.
To score a goal and win the game, most of the time it still depends on Lu Wenbin to make the final shot.
But this is a truth that everyone knows, and the Kuwaiti coaches and players naturally understand it as well.
Therefore, they would rather leave Zheng Zhi, Deng Zhuoxiang and others in open space and use multiple players to surround Lu Wenbin, not giving Lu Wenbin the opportunity to break through or shoot.
At the most extreme moment, the audience could even see Lu Wenbin being surrounded by five Kuwaiti players while dribbling the ball. (Readers can refer to the scene where Messi was surrounded by five Icelanders during the 2018 World Cup between Argentina and Iceland)
Even if the Kuwaiti players are weaker than Lu Wenbin, they are still professional players, and national team players above the Asian average.
One person or two people can't do it, even if three, four, or even five people surround him, even Lu Wenbin will have the ball intercepted.
This is different from a long-distance attack and breaking through several people in succession. In that case, the opponents are defeated one by one, while in this case, the opponent is heavily surrounded, and even Lu Wenbin will find it difficult to control the ball.
Therefore, in the first 20 minutes, Lu Wenbin only got two opportunities for open play shots and one free kick. Only his header in the 4th minute hit the goal frame, but he did not score a goal.
On the contrary, Kuwait launched several more threatening attacks.
However, they are both Asian teams, and Kuwait's forwards' shooting skills are not that good. They also once shot the ball from the penalty area less than 15 meters away from the goal and hit the air.
The two sides exchanged blows until the 23rd minute, when Lu Wenbin finally broke the deadlock.
Many people from the other side surrounded Lu Wenbin, but he was not a wooden man and did not stand there to be surrounded by the other side.
Lu Wenbin's off-ball running and speed are also perfect!
Therefore, in the 23rd minute, Lu Wenbin suddenly changed direction and retreated to get rid of the defensive player, and received the pass from Zheng Zhi when there was no one guarding him.
Afterwards, Lu Wenbin turned around and used his speed and dribbling to break through three Kuwaiti defenders, Nasser, Fadhil and Matouq, and completed a shot on the penalty area line.
This shot was taken after using a bull tail to knock Matouk to the ground. The other Kuwaiti defenders had not yet made up for the deficit, so Lu Wenbin completed the shot without any interference.
Even without a run-up, the power brought by Lu Wenbin's full physique still made this shot from the penalty area line appear powerful and at a tricky angle.
The ball flew past Nasser's feet, passed through the penalty area, and finally bypassed goalkeeper Khalidi's fingers and went into the goal along the goal post. (Seeking monthly tickets)