China's national football team has concluded its latest training camp, during which Wei Shihao, once known as a troublemaker within the team, made some impressive remarks in an interview that have left many fans praising his transformation.
Wei Shihao shared two main points during his interview. Firstly, he believes that the current team atmosphere within China's national football team is the best it has ever been. Secondly, he is confident that head coach Ivanković can lead the Chinese team to qualify for the World Cup finals.
It is quite remarkable that the 29-year-old Wei Shihao could express such sentiments! During Lippi's tenure, Wei Shihao was just starting out and Lippi did not trust him. At that time, Wei Shihao had a fiery personality and often lost his temper during matches, becoming a hidden danger for the Chinese team that could explode at any moment. Later, under Li Tie's leadership, Wei Shihao was not favored by Li Tie. After all, Li Tie himself had issues. Due to Wei Shihao's disobedience, Li Tie also excluded him from the national team.
We don't know how Ivanković managed to win over Wei Shihao! After the first two games of the top 18 qualifiers, where the Chinese team suffered two consecutive losses, media reports revealed that the Chinese Football Association discussed the possibility of changing coaches with the players. At that time, Wei Shihao expressed his support for Ivanković to continue coaching. It is reported that before subsequent matches, Wei Shihao acted more like the team captain, emphasizing to his teammates the importance of following Coach Ivanković's tactical arrangements. After victories against the Indonesian and Bahraini teams, the Chinese team's prospects for qualification took a significant turn for the better. This outcome is attributed not only to Ivanković's skills but also to the significant role played by Wei Shihao.
Currently, Wei Shihao has become Ivanković's top favorite player. In a recent interview, Ivanković lavished praise on Wei Shihao's performance. They have truly achieved mutual success and trust!
The national team's training camp has been very satisfactory for Ivanković. He has made many targeted preparations for the upcoming match against Saudi Arabia in March. The training focused particularly on set-piece defense. When playing away against Saudi Arabia, the goal of the Chinese team is to secure points.
On the current Group C leaderboard, aside from Japan, who have almost secured a spot with 16 points, the remaining teams—Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and China—all have a chance to compete for the top four spots, or even second place in the group. After all, there is only a one-point difference! Will the Chinese national football team be able to achieve their goal of qualifying for the World Cup finals? We'll have to wait and see!