The Chinese women's football team landed in Shanghai on Monday evening after winning the 2022 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup final in Navi Mumbai, India.
Having won all five of their games – the host India withdrew due to COVID-19 before meeting China in the group stage – in the tournament, China showed both dominance and resilience in the competitions. They didn't lose to the opponents that they should beat. Nor did the franchise give up in difficult situations, including trailing 2-0 after the first half in the final.
In fact, China came back to the final victory in each of their three games of the elimination stage.
Immigration staff salute to the Chinese women's national football team at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport in east China's Shanghai, February 7, 2022. /CMG
The tenacious squad comes from indomitable players. For example, China's ace Wang Shuang carried an injury to appear in the final against South Korea. She said it's a dream come true to win the Asian Cup title.
"We have always wanted to show the best of ourselves and conquer the top stage of Asian football," Wang said. "We have achieved a small goal now."
Chinese players displayed very different forms in the first and second half of the final. Wang Shuang recalled that manager Shui Qingxia told them to stop feeling nervous during the halftime break in the locker room.
"Manager Shui said: 'We are now 2-0 behind. What's to be nervous about? Give your best efforts out there. No need to feel pressure.' We did it in the end. You see, you can always trust the Chinese women's national football team," Wang said.
Shui Qingxia, (L), manager of the Chinese women's national football team, talk to medical staff at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport in east China's Shanghai, February 7, 2022. /CMG
It has been only 80 days since Shui took over the women's national team, not to mention that many of the players had just suffered the most painful losses at the Tokyo Olympics. When asked what her secret is in turning the team into a victorious squad in such short notice, Shui said it's nothing special.
"We just communicated with each other frankly," Shui recalled. "I defined clear roles for every position and then asked players to do their part. I think both training and game-playing were tough, so I hope my players could enjoy football by doing it. They are talented, so they should believe in themselves. I like to talk to my players because it's important for us to trust each other."
Players will enter quarantine after returning home. Then they will go back to their clubs to prepare for the Chinese Women's Super League. The next major event for China will be the Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, in September.