On the evening of August 30th, before the Chinese men’s national team training session, national midfielder Li Yuan Yi gave an interview to the media.
[At the beginning of the year during the AFC Champions League, you played against a Japanese team, and your performance was outstanding. Do you have any experience to share with everyone?]
Liyuan Yi: I think these are two completely different types of matches. The AFC Champions League represents the club. The players on the opposing side were mostly playing in Japan. For this World Cup qualifier, I see that most of the names on Japan’s squad list are players from Europe. So, while they primarily focus on possession-based play, which is their fundamental strategy, the players returning from Europe definitely have superior individual abilities, such as dribbling and other skills, compared to those playing domestically in Japan. Therefore, I believe these are two different types of games.
[Looking forward to facing opponents on the field]
Liyuan Yi: For me, this is my first time participating in such an important match. If I get to step onto the field, the opposing players are all those who play in Europe. No matter who it is, everyone is eager to compete against them, and I will seize this opportunity and give it my all in the game.
The Chinese men’s national team will face the Japanese men’s national team at Saitama Stadium in Japan on September 5th at 18:35. This is also the first match of the 18-strong qualifiers for the national team in the World Cup qualifiers.