On the evening of September 1, at Seoul World Cup Stadium in South Korea's capital, Seoul.
In the first round of the Russia World Cup Qualifiers' Asian Qualifiers Round 12, China Team faced Korea away from home.
China Team lined up in a 4-5-1. Wang Dalei was in goal, with Li Xuepeng, Zheng Zhi, Feng Xiaoting, and Zhang Linpeng forming the back line. The midfield consisted of Hao Junmin, Huang Baiwen, Wu Xi, Zhou Haibin, and Wu Lei, while Gao Lin was the lone striker.
Though it was called a 4-5-1, it was actually closer to a 4-3-3, with the two wingers, Hao Junmin and Wu Lei, frequently dropping back into midfield.
Queiroz's tactics were clear. Playing Korea away from home, China Team had to base their approach on defense, first keeping the ball out of their own goal, then slowly looking for a way to breach the opponent's net.
More importantly, Queiroz still had an ace up his sleeve—Yang Yang.
Yang Yang did not start this match because China Team would face Iran at home in Shenyang next.
Two matches in just five days, with both opponents extremely strong—that was already a major challenge for China Team. On top of that, Yang Yang had traveled a long way back home to answer the call, then flown to Korea immediately after arriving. He had not had much time to train with the National Team, so after speaking with Yang Yang privately, Queiroz decided to leave him on the bench.
After kickoff, Korea patiently took control of possession and used their home advantage to steadily push forward.
Without Yang Yang, China Team was effectively without a sharp blade, which made things much easier for Korea's defense.
Of course, Gao Lin, Wu Lei, and Hao Junmin were all overseas internationals playing