Recently, the head coach of the Chinese men’s national football team, Ivanković, spoke with “Football News” in an interview.
In away games against Singapore and at home against Thailand, the national team missed penalties. When asked about the issue of penalties and how they will be handled in future 18-team matches, Ivan responded:
“Missing a penalty is not a problem. Even big players like Messi and Ronaldo have missed penalties, as did Baggio in the World Cup. They are all among the best in the world. Players feel great pressure when taking penalties on the field, and such situations are inevitable. In our last home game where we missed a penalty, the pitch conditions weren’t ideal, it was a bit slippery. So, our players missing a penalty is not a major issue. After Wu Lei missed, he immediately scored two goals. Anything can happen, it’s part of the game. Although Fernandinho missed a penalty against Thailand, he remained our first-choice penalty taker in the final match against South Korea. We won’t make any changes; there’s no need to create unnecessary tension.”