Godfather of national football

Chapter 220 Opening of the Asian Cup

Qatar, a once-poor Gulf country, whose main pillar industry was the collection of shallow sea pearls, until oil was discovered in this country, has since become one of the richest countries in the world.

Qatar, its land area is only one-third the size of Hainan Island, so when FIFA awarded Qatar the right to host the World Cup, the world was in an uproar. Why?Just look at the venue of this Asian Cup.

The current Asian Cup will be held in 5 stadiums, but 4 of them are all in Doha and 1 is in Al Rayyan, and 10 to 12 stadiums are needed to host the World Cup. No wonder the outside world later called the World Cup in Qatar as a World Cup in one city.

What's more terrible is the weather. The temperature in Qatar is as high as 50 degrees in summer, but this later is based on the experience of the Asian Cup in Qatar, that is, it is moved to winter.

The Asian Cup in Qatar is the first ever Asian Cup held in winter, but when the Chinese team players got off the plane in Doha, they didn't feel the slightest chill. The weather was very comfortable, and a thin T-shirt was enough.

As the favorites to win the Asian Cup this year, the Chinese team was warmly welcomed by the outside world as soon as they set foot on the land of Qatar. Li Guo met his old acquaintance at the airport, Ibrahim from Al Jazeera.

It's not that Li Guo has a good memory, but that among a group of reporters in suits and leather shoes, Ibrahim, who is wearing an Arabian white robe, is really eye-catching. Coupled with his bronze skin, Li Guo recognized him at a glance.

As in the previous life, the Chinese team was assigned to Group A, along with Qatar, Kuwait, and Uzbekistan.

Being in a group with the host is both a pressure and a great motivation. At least the Chinese team must show 100% state from the beginning.

"Once again, Qatar and China, Li Guo, do you still think Qatar has no chance at all?" Ibrahim asked.

"I am an honest person, and I also hope that Qatar will qualify in the group stage. After all, if the host is eliminated in the group stage, the fans will lose enthusiasm, but I think it may be more realistic for Qatar to work hard on Uzbekistan and Kuwait."

"That is to say, you booked the first place in the group in advance?"

Li Guo couldn't help laughing, thinking: "Do you think the top 16 of the World Cup shouldn't set such a goal?"

Li Guo put it another way, "You know, there must be a lot of scolding when I go there, but I hope that if the Qataris hate me, they will hate me when I leave this country."

Ibrahim smiled knowingly. He knew that the current Chinese team was not what it used to be, and it was different from the last time they played in the top 20.

The next reporter to ask a question is from Singapore. The Singapore team did not qualify for the Asian Cup, but Singapore has a very developed media industry, and they are present in any international competition.

"Currently among the mainstream European gaming companies, the odds of the Chinese team are the lowest, followed by Australia, followed by Japan and South Korea."

Li Guo pretended to be stupid: "Sorry, I don't buy lottery tickets."

The reporter chuckled, "I want to know what you think."

Li Guo shrugged, "Can you imagine that the final champion of the last Asian Cup was Iraq? I have seen the past few Asian Cups, but it was difficult for the big favorites to win the championship in the end, so I hope that the outside world will be more bearish."

"Who do you think is the biggest opponent of the Chinese team on the way to the championship?"

Li Guo pointed to the weather with a smile, "Of course it's the weather. I'm most worried about the weather when competing in Gulf countries."

The reporter smiled again, he knew that Li Guo likes to play cards not according to the routine, "I mean the specific team."

"I think if we play properly, then there should be no one against us!"

This sentence was reprinted in Lianhe Zaobao published the next day. Generally speaking, all Asian nations regard modesty as a virtue. Li Guo is the first one to be so arrogant. Even the chairman of the AFC, Haman from Qatar, made euphemistic criticisms of Li Guo.

"The Asian Cup held every four years is not only for deciding a champion, but also for exchanges in Asian football. Everyone comes here to make friends. Just like the Olympics, fair competition and friendship are always more important."

Of course, it was the South Korean media that responded most violently, and they launched a nationwide campaign to scold Li Guo again.

KBS even made several consecutive episodes of "Li Guo and His Rumored Girlfriend" in the evening program. KBS made a bold statement that whenever the Chinese team is eliminated, this program will be done until that time.

The counterattack of the Chinese media is also very sharp - the purpose of competitive sports is of course for the final championship, is it true that any of the 16 teams in the Asian Cup are here to lose?
Netizens are not so polite, and the scolding battle will be more heated, there will be a lot of %￥#'s.

But the most important thing in a football game is the game itself. With the arrival of the opener, all disputes slowly subsided.

The opening game was held at the local Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, and the game time was 7:15 pm local time.

From the referee of this game, we can see how much the AFC attaches importance to the opening game. The referee of the opening game is Yuichi Nishimura, the Asian Golden Whistle.

The whole of Qatar, including the chairman of the AFC, hopes that Qatar can make a good start. After all, the first opponent, Uzbekistan, is not strong.

At the end of the game, when all the Qatari fans booed and felt unwilling, it may indicate that this Asian Cup is destined to be restless.

The result of this match was actually a moderate upset, but it was normal for Li Guo, he knew it a long time ago.After the game, the Qatari media criticized the team's performance. More importantly, Qatar's second opponent was the Chinese team. Originally, the wishful thinking of the Qataris was to win the opening game and draw with the Chinese team in the second game.

But now the Qataris only lost one game, but it seems that their Asian Cup is over, because even the Qataris themselves do not believe that they can win the Chinese team in the second round.

Qatar's head coach, the famous French coach Metsu, said after the game, "Unfortunately, we have to fight the Chinese team in the second game. I don't like the feeling of being choked by someone, but after losing the opening game, I feel like this now."

In the end, Metsu also said that if Qatar is out of the group stage, then he will undoubtedly resign. "The group stage consists of three games. Whether it is the Chinese team or the French team standing in front of us, I think it is the same. We must win the opponent."

(End of this chapter)