An article by Shui Qingxia People's Daily: Showcasing the indomitable spirit of Chinese women's football on the World Cup stage. Chinese women's football | Women's football | World Cup

"To show people the health and beauty of women's football athletes"

The goal of the Chinese Women's Football World Cup is not only to win or lose

On July 17th, the Chinese women's football team played a warm-up match against the Colombian women's football team, who were also preparing for the 2023 Women's World Cup, in Sydney, Australia. In the end, the two sides drew 2-2. On the 13th, the Chinese women's football team and the Brazilian women's football team played a warm-up match on the Gold Coast, but the result was a 0-3 loss to their opponents.

This is the eighth World Cup trip of the Chinese women's football team. After two warm-up matches, the Chinese women's football team immediately moved to Adelaide for a two-day training session. On the 20th, the team will arrive in Perth to make final preparations for their first opponent in the group stage, Denmark.

At the beginning of 2022, head coach Shui Qingxia led the team to win the Asian Cup championship, which attracted much attention to this Chinese women's football team. Afterwards, the team entered the "World Cup cycle", with fewer wins and more losses in a series of preparation matches, especially when facing top European and American teams, they were at a disadvantage.

Four years ago in the French Women's World Cup, the Chinese women's football team advanced to the round of 16 with a record of 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss. However, at that time, there were still 24 teams competing in the World Cup, and the Chinese women's football team narrowly advanced to the third place in the group stage. This World Cup has expanded to 32 teams for the first time, and only by finishing in the top two of the group can they qualify for promotion. The Chinese women's football team is in the same group as the English women's football team, Danish women's football team, and Haitian women's football team this time. It is not easy for them to continue their performance in the World Cup and advance to the knockout stage.

The newly crowned European champions, the English women's football team, are one of the favorites to win the World Cup this year. Although the Danish women's football team lost 0-2 to the Spanish team in a recent warm-up match, their strength is similar to that of the Chinese women's football team, and they have previously defeated strong teams such as the Swedish women's football team and the Japanese women's football team. Although it is the first time that the Haitian women's football team has competed in the World Cup, multiple players in the team have competed in the Ligue 1 league and lost only 1-2 in the warm-up match against the South Korean women's football team, demonstrating a certain level of strength.

Shui Qingxia has a clear understanding of this. She said, "The 2023 World Cup is different from four years ago. My team and I feel that the changes in women's football in the world are greater than we imagined. European teams have greatly improved their pressure, attack and defense conversion, and technical application. In addition, European players can reach a high-intensity running distance of 1000 meters in a game, which is much higher than us. This is a challenge we must face. Our training intensity and competition intensity need to be improved."

The previously announced 23 player roster for the Chinese women's football team includes the most outstanding players in the country. Seven players, including Wang Shuang, Wang Shanshan, and Lou Jiahui, have competed in the World Cup for the third time with rich experience; Although Zhang Linyan, Li Mengwen, Shen Mengyu, Wu Chengshu and others have stepped onto the World Cup stage for the first time, their strength has significantly improved through overseas league training.

In this list, it is regrettable that center back Wang Xiaoxue was absent due to injury. After Shui Qingxia took charge of the Chinese women's football team, Wang Xiaoxue was the absolute mainstay of the team in both the Asian Cup and the East Asian Cup. Fortunately, veteran Wu Haiyan has made a comeback from injury and has strengthened the defensive line.

In the first match of the group stage of the Chinese women's football team, facing a Danish team with comparable strength, good defense is a prerequisite for advancing to the group stage. Shui Qingxia said, "We will make some targeted preparations in terms of technical and tactical play, taking into account the balance of attack, defense, and offense and defense. In addition, the atmosphere of the World Cup will also affect the performance of players. I want to let the players relax and play to the level they deserve."

In addition to giving their all on the field, Chinese women's football girls also have a more important goal, which is to show people the health and beauty of women's football athletes. Shui Qingxia said, "Exercise can make girls physically and mentally healthy, with a more outgoing personality. They are full of confidence and will develop inner beauty."

Last year, the "Reform and Development Plan for Chinese Women's Football" was introduced, which clearly stated: "By 2025, improve the environment and atmosphere for the development of women's football, and consolidate the foundation of women's football development." "By 2030, the foundation of women's football development will be more solid, returning to the ranks of world-class strong teams. The population of young and young football players in women's football will increase significantly." The demonstration role of the national team is very important. Nowadays, the world women's football has entered a stage of rapid development, which also urges Chinese women's football to strive towards the direction of "faster speed, greater strength, more advanced technology, and stronger confrontation".

The 2023 Women's World Cup will be held from July 20th to August 20th in Australia and New Zealand. The Chinese women's football team will face their first group stage opponent, Denmark, on July 22nd.

"We will do our best. The World Cup is a stage to showcase ourselves to the fullest. A confident smile from the team members can make more viewers fall in love with football." Shui Qingxia said, "We cannot be worried about gains and losses. We must show everyone the indomitable spirit of the Chinese women's football team on the World Cup stage."