Baijiahao—Although the 2022 FIFA World Cup had a rule wiping out yellow cards before the semifinals, red cards were mandatory suspensions and unaffected by that rule. This meant Zhang Linpeng would be unable to play in the semifinal.
As the first team to reach the semifinals, the China national football team arrived early in the city hosting the match and waited for their next opponent.
France and Brazil—the China national football team's semifinal opponent would be decided between these two teams.
"Personally, I think Brazil would be a more suitable opponent for China."
On a CCTV5+ special program, a Chinese football expert shared some thoughts on the semifinal. "We said that China making it this far was already a miracle, and that's true. But we also know everyone hopes the China national football team can keep creating miracles. Um... in my view, and in the view of some of the other experts on this program, it would be much better if China faced Brazil in the semifinal."
Brazil was traditionally a football powerhouse.
To some netizens who did not follow football closely, the name "Brazil" itself represented the very highest level of the sport—an unbeatable force.
Yet in reality, Brazil's strength had declined sharply in recent years. They were no longer as dominant as they had been decades ago.
For China, Brazil was preferable to France, and the program's experts offered a series of arguments.
1. France had Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé. China had no answer for either of them.
2. After the previous two knockout matches, China's players had nearly exhausted their energy and would struggle against France's fierce attack.
3. Brazil had made frequent mistakes in the group stage of this World Cup, which was seen as a sign that their players were in poor form.
4.