Women s Football East Asian Cup: Draw in the rain, Chinese team is in a dilemma of no championship again

At 15:00 on July 16, in the rain at the Suwon World Cup Stadium, the Chinese women's football team and the Japanese women's football team fought each other for 90 minutes. This 0-0 draw allowed the Chinese team to end the 2025 East Asian Cup journey with 1 win, 2 draws and 5 points, ranking second after Japan due to a goal difference disadvantage. Since its first win in 2010, the curse of the Chinese women's football team missing the East Asian Cup championship for four consecutive times continues. At the beginning of the game, the Japanese team showed delicate passing and control skills. In the third minute, Rihu Yoshida made a cross from the left to create a threat, and Chinese goalkeeper Pan Hongyan resolved the danger in time. Faced with the Japanese team's control rhythm, the Chinese team responded with a quick counterattack. Li Mengwen broke through the right and made a cross. Shao Ziqin shot over the crossbar in front of the goal, which became the most controversial offensive and defensive moment in the first half. In the 22nd minute, Hido Hyaki's goal was invalid due to offside. After VAR intervened and confirmed, the suspense of nearly 10,000 Chinese fans at the scene was finally reached.

After the change of sides, the head coach Milicic dispatched troops to strengthen the offensive. In the 55th minute, in the melee created by the Japanese team's corner kick, Pan Hongyan made a mistake in attack and led to danger. Wu Haiyan's flying head to save the goal line won the applause. When the game entered the last ten minutes, the Chinese team launched a continuous general attack. Jin Kun's single shot after successfully offside was saved. Shao Ziqin headed the ball and missed the post. Before the end of the game, Wang Shuang's accurate long pass once again broke through the defense line. Unfortunately, the players in the foreshadowing failed to seize the chance of winning. The storm changed suddenly in the stoppage time period, and the Japanese team threatened the offensive twice in a row, causing panic in China's defense line. In the 92nd minute, Yamamoto Yuzuki's push shot in the penalty area slipped past the goal, and two minutes later, Chenggong Wei's powerful shot was saved by Pan Hongyan again. When the final whistle sounded, technical statistics on the sidelines showed that the two sides shot 5 to 4, with the Japanese team having a 56% advantage in possession. These cold numbers reflect the Chinese girls fighting hard in the rain.

From the two goals behind South Korea in the first game, to the second round of reversal of Taipei 4-2, to the final game, to the equal-scoring of the Asian overlord Japan, the Chinese women's football team showed resilience in this event. However, the lack of ability to grasp key opportunities has become a bottleneck that restricts the team from going further - I missed 7 absolute scoring opportunities in three games, and Shao Ziqin alone squandered 3 single-shot opportunities. This kind of stubborn disease of weak strikers is particularly fatal in the championship battle.

coach Milicic admitted after the game: "We have created enough opportunities, but football games need to transform advantages into victory." Captain Wang Shuang's speech was unwilling to accept: "The rain wet the jersey, but it cannot destroy the desire to win. Every time I missed the championship, it will bring growth. I believe this young team will eventually break the window. " For the Chinese team preparing for the 2026 Women's World Cup, this regrettable draw may be a new starting point for moving forward.