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Ma Yuan'an: Chinese Women's Soccer Team Well Prepared for First Match
Ma Yuan'an, head coach of the Chinese women's soccer team, said that the Chinese team is well prepared to play Nigeria, their first opponent in the Olympic Games.
Ma said, the Nigerians are in good physical condition and the team is fast. The Chinese team be on defense as soon as the match starts and use its tactical advantages.
The Nigerian team has obvious advantages and disadvantages. It is very important for the Chinese team how it wants to play their opponent before the match. When asked about the Chinese team's tactics and lineup for the first match, Ma said he thinks about these things every day and has an idea now. But it is not the appropriate time to release this information. There will be some changes based on different opponents.
Some of the main players on the Chinese team were injured before they arrived in Canberra. According to Ma, Sun Wen, Liu Ying and Bai Jie, have already recovered. Although Zhao Lihong and Wang Liping suffered from colds due to the cold weather, no one will miss the Olympics due to injuries.
With regards to questions about the physical strength of the team, Ma said, the team went through strength training in Beijing before arriving in Australia. But, the team's problem is not their physical strength, it's mental. Some players became lazy and did not chase after the ball and run when they should have. They complain at each other after losing the ball. Ma said, now is focused on the Olympics so these problems shouldn't appear.
Comparing the current condition of the Chinese team with the condition in last year's World Cup, Ma said, before last year's World Cup, seven or eight main players on the team were injured and recovered just ten days before the match. Currently, the team doesn't have one injured player so it should be almost the same as the last World Cup team. In addition, after last year's World Cup, there were some mental problems. After paying a price last year, the team has found themselves again.
In the last warm-up match in Canberra before the Olympics on September 7, China defeated Germany 1:0. Ma said, the Chinese team only played well in the first half of the match.
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