Chinese fans hoped that the Chinese team could reverse the situation at home and defeat the Iraqi national team.

But the final result was a 1:1 draw between the Chinese team and Iraq at home, with both sides shaking hands and making peace.

This result was not very acceptable, so after the game, the fans in the stands were a little resentful—this is our home field! If we can't win at home, can we expect to beat our opponents on the road?

Zhou Yi also talked about the draw in a post-match interview: "We are also very sorry that we didn't win. They are very tenacious, and Iraq is a respectable opponent. But this doesn't mean that we have no way to qualify from the Asian region. I don't think there is any need to worry too much. The World Cup qualifiers are a very long process, and this is just the top 20."

"Are you worried that in the end, you will find that today's draw will become a turning point?" a reporter asked.

"Not at all." Zhou Yi shook his head, answering very definitely.

Finally, Zhou Yi waved to the reporters and smiled: "Don't be a scared bird, seeing shadows on the wall."

After saying that, he said goodbye to the reporters and walked away.

"He uses idioms quite well..."

"After all, he is a high school student. He was originally going to take the college entrance examination..."

The reporters discussed.

"But it's still a pity that we didn't beat Iraq at home. If we could have won, we would have had much more room to maneuver later..."

"Actually, I think Zhou Yi is right. And I think everyone has overlooked one point—just because we won the runner-up in the Asian Cup, don't think that this team is already so strong. In fact, there is no obvious improvement in strength. Everyone knows how the Asian Cup runner-up came about. There is an element of luck, and Zhou Yi's contribution is also very great. But how can we always expect Zhou Yi to do it alone? In fact, this game has already shown such signs." Someone analyzed, and what he said made sense, and everyone thought it made sense after listening.

After all, they are all professional reporters in the football circle, so they still have some professional qualities.

Before the Asian Cup, Gao Hongbo claimed that the Chinese team was third-rate in Asia. The media criticized him. It's not that the media thought that the Chinese team was really first-rate in Asia. They just felt that before the competition, they shouldn't say words that would diminish their own ambition.

After the Chinese team won the Asian Cup, many people also felt that this did not mean that the strength of Chinese football had improved.

The result of a major competition often cannot explain anything, and the determination of a country's football level is a very complex and multifaceted consideration. For example, the Greek team won the European Cup in 2004, but can it be said that Greek football is first-class in Europe? If the Greek team could become a favorite to win the European Cup every time after that championship, it could be said that. But in reality, it didn't, so it is called "Greek mythology". Since it is a myth, it cannot appear often.

So, how is the level of Chinese football? One Asian Cup result cannot explain anything, but depends on the long-term performance of multiple events.

If the Chinese team can enter the finals of the Brazil World Cup, and can be present in every World Cup final after that, then it can be said that the strength of Chinese football has become stronger.

Moreover, the problems exposed by the Chinese team in this game are also very obvious, that is, over-reliance on Zhou Yi.

At the post-match press conference, Gao Hongbo was asked by reporters about the "Zhou Yi dependency syndrome."

"Zhou Yi is the core of the team, and his importance is of course self-evident. But the performance of other players is equally important. Football is a team sport. Of course, the current strength of the Chinese team is not very strong. I have always said that our football level is not considered strong in Asia. Chinese football still has a long way to go, and this game is just one step."

Gao Hongbo answered the reporters' questions in this way.

He did not directly admit that the national team had a certain degree of "Zhou Yi dependency syndrome," because that would be tantamount to indirectly admitting that the other players in the national team were not worthy of Zhou Yi, which would be detrimental to the unity of the team.

In fact, he knew very well that the abilities of some players in the national team were indeed more difficult to coordinate with Zhou Yi. This is not a secret. Just look at Zhou Yi's two performances in Dortmund and in the national team.

In Dortmund, Zhou Yi has excellent teammates to help him, and his performance is like a fish in water. In the national team, he has to carry the burden alone, so it is inevitable that he will be a little strenuous.

Zhou Yi is an organizing midfielder, not the kind of player who charges into battle. He needs excellent teammates to cooperate. Gao Hongbo is not unaware of this, but a clever woman cannot cook without rice. These are the only excellent players in China, and there is no way to find any more.

Of course, he is also paying attention to the Olympic team, but the current task of the Olympic team is no less than that of the national team. He cannot transfer those young players from the Olympic team to the national team, otherwise Blazevic will definitely be anxious with him...

It should be noted that the final group stage of the Asian Olympic qualifiers has already begun. The Olympic team had an unfavorable start, losing 1:2 to the South Korean Olympic team in the away game. Therefore, Blazevic is also under great pressure.

In order to be able to recruit Olympic players playing in Europe, Blazevic also used his personal connections in Europe, hoping that those clubs would release them.

Because the Olympic team's game is not strictly considered an international A-level event, there is no special national team match day, so the game time conflicts with the European league.

For example, the game against the Korean team was scheduled to kick off at 7:00 pm Beijing time on September 21, and the fifth round of La Liga between Atletico Madrid and Sporting Gijon was also on the evening of September 21 Beijing time, which is very embarrassing...

Because Sun Pan, the main goalkeeper of the Olympic team, is also the main goalkeeper of Atletico Madrid.

This goalkeeper, who was loaned to Atletico Madrid in the summer, performed very well in the summer warm-up matches, squeezing out Asenjo and becoming the main goalkeeper of Atletico Madrid. Therefore, Atletico Madrid is unwilling to let Sun Pan go back to participate in the competition.

If Blazevic didn't have some connections in European football, the Chinese Football Association might have to file a lawsuit with Atletico Madrid.

Guo Nu's situation is similar to Sun Pan's. This season, Guo Nu was traded to Cesena by Inter Milan as an addition to Yuto Nagatomo's transfer. After arriving in Cesena, he was a substitute in the first round of the league. From the second round, he became a starter. After playing two consecutive starts, his performance has conquered Cesena's club officials, coaches, and fans.

It seems that the person Inter Milan didn't want has found a stable opportunity to play in Cesena.

The fourth round of Serie A, Cesena's home game against Lazio, was also scheduled for the evening of September 21 Beijing time, but Guo Nu had to participate in the Olympic team's game and will miss this Serie A game.

In the end, Cesena without Guo Nu lost 1:2 to Lazio at their home stadium, proving Guo Nu's position in this team from one side.

He Ying's situation is slightly different from the previous two, but only because the time of his Valladolid game did not overlap with the time of the Chinese Olympic team's game. After being loaned to Valladolid from Barcelona's youth team this season, He Ying, who plays in the Spanish Second Division, has received little attention, but this low-key environment seems to be conducive to He Ying's performance.

In the five rounds of the Spanish Second Division, he started three times and came off the bench twice, scoring two goals. Moreover, the two opportunities to come off the bench were in the first two rounds of the league, which means that he has started every game since then, for three consecutive rounds.

Yang Muge has not played for Schalke 04 yet and is a marginal figure in the first team, so this has the least impact on him.

Then why did the Olympic team, which has two players who play as starters in La Liga and Serie A teams, as well as one starter in the Spanish Second Division and one player in the Bundesliga first team, lose to the South Korean Olympic team in the away game?

Blazevic believed after the game that the continuous travel had left the team's main players in less than optimal condition, and the away game was already difficult, so it was normal for the Chinese Olympic team to lose. Moreover, the Olympic team also scored an away goal, for which Blazevic felt proud.

It is worth mentioning that the person who scored the only goal for the Chinese team was He Ying.

※※※

After the game against Iraq, Zhou Yi left China and returned to Dortmund.

The next national team game will be on November 11 a month later. The Chinese team will go to Iraq for an away game, and four days later, they will go to Singapore for an away game.

After playing these two games, the Chinese team will only have one game left against Jordan. But perhaps by that time, the situation of whether the national team can enter the final top ten will be very clear...

After returning to Dortmund, Zhou Yi helped Dortmund beat Werder Bremen 2:0 in an away game.

Chinese media commented that Zhou Yi in Dortmund is simply a more powerful version than Zhou Yi in the national team.

This is a fact.

Under Zhou Yi's leadership, Dortmund won three consecutive victories from the seventh round of the league, which also allowed the team to score 18 league points, and the ranking rose from the previous ninth place to the second place.

Now, the only team above them is Bayern Munich with 22 points.