Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, three days passed.

The opening ceremony of the 007 Asian Cup was held in Bangkok, Thailand. What was very embarrassing is that the heavy rain on this day destroyed the festive atmosphere. First, the heavy rain affected the attendance rate. Only less than 20,000 fans entered the stadium, which can accommodate 65,000 spectators; secondly, due to sudden heavy rains, the opening ceremony was postponed for 20 minutes and shrunk by 30 minutes. As a result, the opening ceremony, which was originally scheduled to be 70 minutes, was shortened to 40 minutes.

At the opening ceremony, the only highlight was the wonderful singing of Thai queen Tata Yang. Her passionate Asian Cup theme song "I Believe" conquered the audience.

After the opening ceremony, the opening battle is

The Thai team's home game against Iraq has become the focus of attention of all media.

Just 6 minutes into the game, the Thai team got a good opportunity to score a penalty, and Susong Kitt easily made a penalty. The backward Iraqi team launched a large counterattack, and the Thai goalkeeper Kosin performed well and resolved the opponent's attacks many times.

Until the 33rd minute, the Iraqi captain passed to the penalty area, and Yunis jumped high and headed the ball, tied the score.

After the second half of the game, the Thai team gradually gained the advantage, but facing the strong opponent, they ultimately failed to rewrite the score, and the score of 1:1 remained until the end of the game.

The first opening match of the group ended, and Thailand drew with Iraq.

This result is very beneficial to the other two teams, Australia and Hong Kong. Whoever can score three points in the fight will be able to occupy a favorable position.

The match with Australia is also on the same stadium, but Hong Kong is not favored. They were considered to be "definitely losing" from the beginning because they are the last Asian ranks, while Australia is the top team. The gap between the two teams is difficult to calculate. Just look at the lineup, you can tell that in Australia's roster, there are 19 people from overseas leagues, and 7 of them are from the Premier League. It is enough to form most of the main lineup.

Among these seven Premier League players, Viduka, Covell, Cahill and goalkeeper Schwarzer are the absolute main players of the Australian team. In a sense, the current Australian team is a "England Second Team" composed of Premier League players.

And what about the Hong Kong team?

Except for head coach Wan Sheng is very famous, almost no one knows each player.

The gap... is too big!

In the media's coverage of the first day of the event, the next day also came soon, and before the match between Australia and Hong Kong, Wan Sheng attended the press conference.

At the press conference, reporters gathered.

This is due to Wan Sheng's identity. As the top coach of European clubs, Wan Sheng has a lot of attractiveness to the media. In this regard, he is stronger than Australian coach Arnold.

However, Arnold is more confident because he is the Australian head coach. Australia has many outstanding stars. They are not much stronger than the Hong Kong team, so even if the opponent is Wan Sheng, he doesn't take the game seriously at all.

"Our goal is the championship!" Arnold kept saying this, "We attach great importance to this Asian Cup. We have done a lot of preparations and preparations. Now this team is the strongest in Australia. We will insist on moving closer to the championship!"

Arnold has always emphasized the championship, just as they have reached the finals.

Wan Sheng sneered in his heart. When did he get so angry at the press conference?

Seeing that Australia and Hong Kong were about to play, the Australian head coach kept talking about the topic of championships, and did not talk about the group stage or the game. This really doesn't take himself and the Hong Kong team seriously at all!

Wan Sheng was so angry that he said to the media directly, "If I were to say that Australia would not be the champion, it would be difficult to qualify in the group!"

"I have seen a lot of reports on the group situation in the media. Those who have completely different opinions from me. I think the Hong Kong team has the most chance to qualify, followed by Iraq, and then Australia. This ranking should be rearranged according to what I said!"

"So they don't want to say they are champions, think about how the group will appear first!"

Hearing these words, the media reporters immediately wanted to refute it. They now know why the European media commented on the Chinese people using words such as "arrogant" and "arrogant". So it's true. What's the big deal about the Hong Kong team? A team at the bottom of Asia! Do you dare to say that you have the greatest hope of qualifying in the group? You are not afraid of flashing your tongue!

But Wan Sheng didn't give them a chance to refute, "I know what you are going to say, but I will use the game to prove everything!"

He said confidently, and after that, he left the venue, leaving a group of media who looked at each other incredible.

Wan Sheng is more than just talking, he is very confident.

The Hong Kong team's strength is indeed very poor, and the abilities of each player are not very good, but after half a month of training, the players in the team have improved a little. In addition, the attribute bonus of the football training master system, the current Hong Kong team cannot be said to be first-class in Asia when it comes to the personal ability of the players, but it is still second-rate. If you go to the court, with the bonus of a bunch of coaching skills, you will definitely be able to compete with first-class Asian teams.

In addition, the team's improvement is not only due to the players' personal abilities, but the improvement in tactical application gives Wan Sheng enough confidence.

It is not easy to defeat Australia in this game, but it is also difficult for Australia to win!

Before the game, Wan Sheng was in the locker room and gave the players the final encouragement, "We persisted in training for half a month, and each of you can know the hard work! But you persisted!"

"You are all excellent when you can stick to this day! Someone of you asked me before, why didn't you arrange a warm-up match, and I didn't answer, but now I tell you, that's not necessary. We don't need to prove anything with warm-up. Without warm-up, no team understands us, so we are mysterious. Now, the other party has no understanding of us at all, so we have a better chance!"

"This game is the first 'warm-up match' for us!"

"The other party looked down on us and thought we were the last in Asia! But I think we are one of the best teams in Asia! We are the team with the most hope of qualifying. That's what I told the media. I don't want to be considered arrogant after the game. Do you understand?"

"When you are on the court, don't think that the opponent is a star, don't think that the opponent is Australia. It's a strong team, much better than us, that doesn't make sense. When you play your level during training, I believe we will be the final winner!"

"Before the game, Hong Kong coach Wan Sheng spoke wildly. He said that the Hong Kong team in Group A has the best chance to qualify, while the Australian team is worried about qualifying for the group. This is simply the biggest joke in the Asian Cup this year!"

Japanese NTV TV commentator Onodera Gonori said in a very disdainful tone, "Australia is the strongest team in this Asian Cup. Their lineup is even more gorgeous than the Japanese football team. The Australian team supported by big-name stars such as Cahill and Viduka is simply a strong European team. They are the most powerful contenders for the Asian Cup championship. But Wan Sheng thinks that Hong Kong has the most chance, which is really funny. Even if he is a world-renowned coach, he is so confident and arrogant."

While commenting, a close-up of Wan Sheng appeared in the TV screen. Wan Sheng stood on the sidelines and watched the game seriously.

Onodera Gonomi knew Wan Sheng very well. He knew that Wan Sheng was very successful in coaching British football. But he had a lot of Japanese imperial thoughts in his heart and was very jealous of such a successful Chinese. He believed that the Japanese should be the one who succeeded in football. Now he seized the opportunity and said, "If he was just so arrogant, it is very likely that his success was all due to luck, otherwise it would be difficult to explain how he was so ignorant!"

This is equivalent to publicly expressing his disdain for Wansheng.

The game seems to be going on according to his idea. From the beginning to now, Australia has been suppressing the attack of the Hong Kong team, and the Hong Kong team was a little breathless when they were attacked. They have been defending and defending, giving people the feeling that there is no power to resist at all.

But what he didn't realize was that the Australian player was playing very suffocating.

In this game, Australia sent 352 formations, with veterans Viduka and Striovski heading in the front, and the five midfielders were Emerton, Bresciano, Cowell, Wilkhill, Grera, defenders Neil, Kisnobo, Chillenna, and goalkeeper Schwarzer.

Apart from Cahill sitting on the bench, this is almost the strongest lineup Australia can line up.

Australia attaches great importance to the game.

This is Australia's first Asian Cup event. After they were classified in the Asian region, they hoped to win the Asian Cup to establish Australia's position in the Asian team and make their "Asian No. 1" worthy of their reputation. The team's head coach Arnold, including all the players, also attaches great importance to the first game.

There is a saying in China that "a good start is half the success." With the first victory, the team will be able to take the first step to success. Their goal is to defeat the Hong Kong team to announce the arrival of Australia.

As a representative player of Australia, Vimak Viduka's emphasis on this Asian Cup can be seen.

In 1975, Viduka was born in a family of Croatian descendants in Melbourne. When he was a teenager, he entered the famous Australian Sports Academy and showed extraordinary talent, especially his strong body and amazing explosive power and strength. At that time, his classmate at the Sports Academy and later tennis star Philipssis, who later became a Greek descendant, took the initiative to challenge Viduka to save the penalty. Philipssis saved the penalty, but broke his arm because of his strong shooting force.

Since the age of 17, Viduka has started playing football for the Melbourne Cavaliers with a strong Croatian background, helping the team win the National Football League (NNSL) championship twice, and has also been crowned the top scorer many times.

However, the Australian League organization was not sound at that time, and it was difficult for Viduka to further improve her level here.

In 1995, Croatia's first president since its independence from the former South, Franio Tujiman visited Australia. He appreciated Viduka's football talent and invited him to join the Croatian powerhouse Croatia Zagreb (now Dynamo Zagreb). In the following three years, he scored more than 50 goals in the league, helping Dynamo Zagreb win the domestic league championship and cup championship three times, and also performed well in the European game. However, since introducing Viduka was Tujiman's personal idea, he had not consulted.

The head coach's opinion. Once Viduka is in poor condition, fans will hold on to the braids of his relationship owners, and sometimes he even becomes a target of political struggle. In Croatia, which has not completely escaped from the shadow of war, Viduka is often worried. Fans' attacks and psychological pressure make it difficult for Viduka to go out for dinner. Even after he transferred to the Celtics, the giants of the Soviet Super League in 1998, he was once troubled by psychological problems and ran away from the club without playing a game.

However, once the psychological problems were solved, Viduka revealed his nature as a goal-scoring machine.

Shortly after the 99-00 season began, the Celtics' top scorer, Swedish star Henrik Larson, was seriously injured and broke his leg. Viduka took on the burden of the team's goal.

This season, Viduka demonstrated his comprehensive qualities. At 1.88 meters tall, he can not only use his body and height to score points, but also have a strong air-control advantage. What's more valuable is that his feet are not bad. He also has strong ability to protect the ball and make balls, and can create opportunities for his companions. This season, he scored 27 league goals and was crowned the top scorer of the Scottish Super League.

In 2000, Summer Viduka transferred to Leeds United for £6 million.

Under Ollillie, Viduka and his compatriots Cowell and Bridges, Alan Smith, Robbie Keane and other players formed the daunting attack line of the Youth Guards, making great achievements for the White Army to enter the Champions League semi-finals this season.

In the 200-01 season, Viduca scored 22 goals in various competitions, including four goals in the solo match against Liverpool. In the following years, Viduca could ensure double-digit league goals efficiency every season, but the club's financial situation and record were getting worse.

Leeds United was relegated in the 2003-04 season. Viduka, as the last group of stars to be sold, transferred to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2004.

Viduka was troubled by injuries in his first season at the Riverside Stadium. After all, players like him who rely on his body to make a living and often get the ball under his feet are bound to be surrounded by the defender's black feet.

However, since 2005, he has returned to a stable goal rate and once helped Mibao reach the League Cup final in 2006.

Viduka, who was in the same year, participated in the World Cup with the Australian national team for the first time. As the captain, he played all four games, but unfortunately he did not score.

"Yes, we are the favorites to win this Asian Cup. But the popularity does not mean we can relax our guard."

Although he won two goals in the warm-up match against Singapore on June 30, helping Australia defeat his opponent 3-0, for Viduka, only by holding up the championship trophy can Australia's first Asian Cup journey be considered a success.

As the captain of Australia when he participated in the World Cup in Germany last year, Viduka, who is 32 years old this year, is undoubtedly still an iconic figure in Australian football. However, just before the Asian Cup started, head coach Arnold almost lost the powerful striker from Newcastle in the Premier League.

In the early morning of June 15, Viduka issued a statement saying that he was about to withdraw from the national team and concentrate on playing football in the club. However, on June 15, after persuasion from all parties including Arnold, Viduka took back his national team's retirement statement, expressing his willingness to represent the national team in this Asian Cup.

Regarding Viduka's "rebound". Coach Arnold is undoubtedly the happiest one, because in his tactical system, Viduka, who has physical and experience advantages, is a well-deserved core player in the frontcourt of the Australian team. "Viduka first decided to retire, but after a while of consideration, he has decided to put on the national team's jersey again. I did not show him any attitude, which was completely his personal decision. Of course, I am very happy about this and welcome him back to the national team."

According to Arnold, the reason why Viduka had the idea of ​​retirement was related to his just joining Newcastle. "Joining Newcastle has caused Viduka to face a series of problems, which is also what he has always been worried about. However, for the national team, Viduka has always been loyal. When he knew that the Australian team needed him to make great achievements in this year's Asian Cup, he chose to be with us."

Viduka continued to stay in the Australian team, undoubtedly for the championship. On the contrary, Viduka did not pay much attention to the first group stage, like an Australian teammate.

In Viduka's opinion, the only thing that the Hong Kong team should be valued is their head coach Wan Sheng. He has been playing football in England and is no stranger to Wan Sheng. He knows very well how strong Wan Sheng's coaching ability is.

Despite this, Viduka doesn't think that Wan Sheng coached Hong Kong for half a month, which can bring any surprising changes to the Hong Kong team. Even in the past half month, the Hong Kong team's strength has improved, but that is... it has been upgraded to second-rate Asia?

This is already shocking!

But Asian second-rate teams still cannot threaten the Australian team. They are an international team and are not comparable to ordinary Asian teams.

This is Viduka's idea. It's also the idea of ​​all Australian players. However, after 30 minutes of the game, Viduka's feeling was different.

He kicked very depressed.

From the beginning of the game to the present, Viduka has been defended very closely, and every time he gets a ball in the frontcourt, he always faces double-teams from at least two players. Even if the Hong Kong players are poor, it is still difficult to get rid of the two players. As a result, he has not found a good opportunity in front of the goal until now.

Other Australian teammates are not much better.

Just like the live broadcast commentator of Super Sports S Channel online broadcast Gao Jixian said, "In the beginning of the game, Australia gained a comprehensive advantage. They have great advantages in terms of ball control, passes and catches, etc., but so far they have not scored goals, made five shots. Only one shot was within the range of the goal frame."

"The Hong Kong team has invested a lot of energy in defense. Their efforts have made it difficult for Australia to find a good opportunity in the frontcourt. Viduka is defended very closely. The Australian star has encountered some trouble and it is difficult for him to get rid of this targeted defense."

While the commentator commented on the game, Australian coach Arnold was also surprised by the game situation.

No goals in 30 minutes, but it doesn't sound like that.

There are 90 minutes of football matches. Often, in a game, a goal is likely to determine the outcome. Although Australia did not score, the situation has always been under control. Football has always been at the feet of Australia. But the problem is that Australia has not found many good opportunities in the frontcourt.

What Arnold noticed is that the Hong Kong team showed first-class defense.

If it is just an ordinary Asian team, every player works hard to play games, work hard on defense, and strives not to let Australia score points, which is actually nothing, but the Hong Kong team has also made it difficult for Australia to find opportunities in the frontcourt. This is completely different. They are not just trying hard to play, but they are also doing quite well in defensive tactics and performance.
To be continued...