Chapter 704: 2023 China Asian Cup?

Dongqiu Di Match Report: Manchester United defeats Beijing Guoan 4:2 at the Bird's Nest to claim their first pre-season victory; Tang Ye scores twice and wins MVP, while Li Lei and Yu Yu Dabao find the net. (219,232 comments)

【200,000 comments, our Beijing Guoan has finally made it.】

【Fix the match, brothers, fix the match! I truly refuse to accept this MVP not going to Li Lei; GGBond rigged the game!】

【Has Escrivá taken office yet? If Escrivá takes office, won't Chengdu become another Battle of the Two Saints?】

【Damn, awesome, I just realized!】

【Escrivá transferred to the national team just to defeat Ten Hag again! Turns out the hatred from their brawls wasn't acted at all. Go, Saint Escrivá!】

"Thank you everyone, thank you!"

At the Bird's Nest Stadium, Tang Ye held a microphone and thanked the over 90,000 fans present.

"Wow!!!"

"No need, King Tang of Football, you're awesome!"

"No need to thank us, you're simply the best!"

"..."

"Ahem!"

Blowing into the microphone to clear it, Tang Ye organized his words: "Calm down, brothers, calm down a bit, listen to me."

The venue fell silent as Tang Ye continued speaking.

"To be honest, I was quite surprised when I arrived today; I expected a full house, but I didn't expect the fans here to be so enthusiastic."

"Wow!!!!"

"Tang Ye! Tang Ye! Tang Ye!"

Both the Manchester United jerseys and the national team jerseys are red, resulting in the stands being a sea of red.

Since the Nike jerseys and Adidas jerseys differ slightly, from the live broadcast perspective, the red in the stands had a gradient-like effect.

There were also super-sized posters of Tang Ye and GG Bond!

"I recall, hmm... based on my memory, this should be my first time playing at the Bird's Nest, but this isn't my first time visiting Beijing. To speak plainly, I truly love this place; the facilities at the Bird's Nest, including the pitch, exceeded my expectations."

"We might also play matches at the Bird's Nest during this year's Asian qualifiers, though nothing is confirmed yet; if we can play here, I will definitely be very happy."

"Wow!!!"

"Come to Wuhan!"

"Hangzhou! Hangzhou!"

"Xi'an! It must be Xi'an!"

The fans were somewhat overly enthusiastic, causing Tang Ye to pause every few sentences to wait for the crowd in the stands to calm down first.

"Speaking of the Asian qualifiers."

The host stepped forward: "The news we currently have is that Escrivá is willing to coach the Chinese national team; may I ask if this is true?"

"Hmm..."

Tang Ye pondered, recalling his phone call with Escrivá the night before last: "It is true."

"Wow!!!!"

Upon hearing this news, the already excited fans became even more ecstatic.

It was basically an official announcement.

"Then what do you think is the reason Escrivá came to coach the Chinese national team?"

"This... I think a coach choosing a team should choose one they believe has potential. We have the potential to qualify for next year's World Cup, which is why he came here."

"You will play the second pre-season match at the Chengdu Phoenix Mountain Sports Center in five days; will Escrivá take office before then?"

The host asked the critical question, and the venue grew much quieter.

If Escrivá took office immediately, he would have the chance to lead the Chinese men's national team against Manchester United.

Unfortunately, however.

According to Tang Ye's response, signing the contract for the national team head coach would not happen that quickly, especially at this critical juncture where the Chinese men's national team is striving for the Qatar World Cup.

Although Escrivá is a Champions League-winning manager, he still must go through the approval process.

What if Escrivá turns out to be unsuitable? The Football Association cannot afford that price!

"We all know that there is still some gap between the Chinese national team and Manchester United in terms of paper strength."

The phrase "paper strength" was used very well, indicating that today's host had done specific preparation.

"Given the gap in paper strength, what adjustments will you make to balance the scales of the match?"

"This..."

Tang Ye tilted his head slightly: "I should be on the national team side."

"Wow!!!"

"Awesome!"

Although this was Manchester United's tour of China, and Tang Ye was also on Manchester United's roster.

It turned out to be Manchester United versus the national team...

Tang Ye could run over to the national team to play against Manchester United, which could still count as part of Manchester United's China tour.

Yes, that is indeed how it works.

Repost of Tang Ye interview: In the second friendly match, he should represent the national team against opponent Manchester United.

Ten Hag interview: Does not care who the Chinese national team's coach is; we will play every friendly match well.

Chinese Football Association: The Chinese national team plans to begin the first phase of training camp for the Asian qualifiers Round of 12 on July 19.

This national team training camp is not entirely for earning money by playing a friendly against Manchester United; another purpose is to let the players who are about to participate in international competitions feel the pressure.

The Football Association attaches great importance to the upcoming Asian Qualifiers Final Round, so just like last year, the preparation and training camp for this event is divided into two phases.

The first phase begins on July 19 and ends on August 1; after it concludes, the players return to their respective leagues to participate in training and matches.

The second phase begins on August 20, and after two weeks of preparation, the first match of the Asian Qualifiers Final Round will officially kick off.

"Jinri Toutiao" — Schedule chart for the national team in the Asian Qualifiers Final Round.

September 2: United Arab Emirates vs. China (Round 1), Sharjah Stadium, United Arab Emirates.

September 7: China vs. Vietnam (Round 2), Stadium at the Sports Center of Dalian City.

October 7: China vs. Saudi Arabia (Round 3), Shanghai Pudong Football Stadium.

The moment they saw the schedule chart, many fans went to check the timetable for the Premier League.

The new season of the Premier League will begin around August 15.

Hiss...

Thinking about it carefully, the challenge facing the national team is actually quite significant.

The main issue lies with Tang Ye; he will need to shuttle back and forth between England and China.

On the night after the match ended, the Manchester United players went out to have fun at bars near the Workers' Stadium.

At this moment, Douyin was flooded with two types of content.

First was the matter of the national team's upcoming Final Round matches; the venues for the first two home games had already been confirmed.

However, regarding where the subsequent home matches would be arranged, the Football Association had not made any statement, leading netizens in the Douyin comment section to enthusiastically recommend stadiums in their hometowns, even going so far as to start flame wars.

Then there was Zhang Zhang Xizhe's livestream room.

After finishing the match, Beijing Guoan midfielder Zhang Zhang Xizhe started a livestream on Douyin to respond to some questions from fans and netizens.

"Why couldn't we beat them even after they threw the match?... If we can't beat them, we just can't; what can be done about it? We never planned to win from the start anyway."

"Tang Ye? There's absolutely nothing to say about Tang Ye; he isn't even on the same level as us. We're just on the same national team, not at the same skill level."

"Hey, wait a minute, why are there so many people in this livestream who don't even watch football? Have you ever watched the Chinese Super League? Don't use Tang Ye's standards to demand things from us! 2-4 was truly giving our all; Manchester United held back a lot, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to score those two goals!"

【Brother Zhe, there was actually a chance to win! You just failed to seize the opportunity.】

"Stop talking about opportunities; you might not be able to tell from the stands, but come onto the pitch and try playing a bit, then you'll know."

Zhang Zhang Xizhe scrolled through the danmu in the livestream room: "Do you know what it feels like to be on the pitch? I knew the opposition was throwing the match, yet it was still a struggle, especially in midfield. Midfield is the most exhausting position; Gao Gao Tianyi and I were practically suffocating."

"You can't reverse the game single-handedly..."

"Damn it, I'm not Tang Ye."

Zhang Zhang Xizhe suddenly thought of something, turned his head, and took a glance at the Beijing Guoan number 10 jersey hanging on the wall.