By Yoon Jin-man, Sports Chosun]Chinese national team coach Dejan Durjevic,캡틴토토 who will take on South Korea in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games, has expressed his frustration with the tight schedule.
“We played four matches in eight days,” Durjevic said after China’s 1-0 win over Qatar in the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou Asian Games at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on Sunday. According to international rules, a maximum of three matches are allowed in seven days,” he criticized. South Korea also played four games in eight days from Sept. 19 to 27, including three group matches and the round of 16.
Serbian coach Durdevic also blamed “overwork” for the sending off of key defender Jang Sun-roong for a collision with an opponent just before the end of the second half. Zhang had started all four games. “When players are overworked, their body and brain function decreases, which affects their ability to communicate and make judgments, which means their reaction time slows down and their decision-making becomes inaccurate,” Durjevic said in a press conference, according to China’s Sina.com.
In fact, later in the day, when things didn’t go his way, Dudevic threw a water bottle out of his hand to show his anger. It seems that Chinese players and foreign coaches alike are prone to losing their temper.
The men’s soccer group stage match between South Korea and Kuwait at the Hangzhou Asian Games at Jinhua Stadium in Hangzhou, China, on Monday afternoon. Park Jin-seop attempts a header.
China’s squad is not in the best shape ahead of its quarterfinal match against South Korea on Nov. 1. Chinese media reported that Zhang Sunrong is out through suspension, forcing Zhu Chenjie, who is currently recovering from injury, to play. Midfielder Gao Tian is out through accumulation.
After losing two key players, Dudevic said, “We have 22 players in the team. I can replace the absentees with other players. It doesn’t affect my formation,” he said. “I hope the injured players will return,” he said, admitting that it’s not easy to pick a lineup at the moment.
South Korea and China split a pair of friendlies in June in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China. At the time, China’s rough play resulted in injuries to Korean players such as Uhm Won-sang. “The June match is already in the past. “Korea is very strong,” he said, adding, “We will respect them in the press conference, but when we go out on the field, we will try to win. Dudevic plans to use a 4-2-3-1 formation similar to the last four games.
More than 38,000 fans attended the last match between China and Qatar. An even larger crowd is expected for the China-Korea match.
The match between South Korea and Kuwait in the first round of the men’s soccer group stage at the Hangzhou Asian Games at Jinhua Stadium in China on Sept. 19. Cho Young-wook scores his team’s second goal in the first half. Jinhua (China)=Song Jeong-heon 기자songs@sportschosun.com/2023.09.19/
South Korea began training for the match against China on Sept. 29 at the auxiliary field next to the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium, where the 6 p.m. match will be held. “If we can’t overcome that, we can’t win the gold medal,” Hwang said of China’s home field advantage and rough play. Key midfielder Lee Kang-in has been getting more playing time, playing 36 minutes against Bahrain in the third round and 60 minutes against Kyrgyzstan in the round of 16. Against China, he can expect to play full time. It will be a full-strength squad.
Meanwhile, Chinese website Sohu.com called it a “miracle” that China beat South Korea. With a huge disparity in strength and a number of key players missing, it will be a tough matchup. The last time the two teams met on the Asian Games stage was in Guangzhou, China, in 2010, when South Korea won 3-0 in the round of 16 with consecutive goals from Kim Jung-woo, Park Ju-young, and Cho Young-chul.