Original title: World qualifiers face old rival Iran The Chinese men’s basketball team prepares for a tough battle
China Sports News reporter Hu Jianhua
On November 11, the Chinese men’s basketball team will face Iran in the first match of the fifth window of the 2023 World Cup qualifiers. With many players suffering from injury problems, the Chinese team must be prepared to fight a tough battle in the face of this old opponent.
The Chinese men’s basketball team flew to Iran on the evening of the 7th. Before leaving, the team announced the list of 14 people for the visit. Due to factors such as injuries, this list has changed a lot compared to the staff in the fourth window period. Among them, Guo Ailun and Zhao Jiwei were not selected for the guard line. Although Zhou Qi, Wang Zhelin and Shen Zijie were still the main players on the inside line, Zhou Qi and Shen Zijie were not selected, all with injuries of varying degrees.
Being the best player in the fourth window, Zhou Qi’s importance for the Chinese men’s basketball team is evident. While training in the Australian League, Zhou Qi strained his calf muscle and the team advised him to rest for 3 weeks. However, according to Du Feng, the head coach of the Chinese men’s basketball team, Zhou Qi flew directly from Australia to Iran to join the team for the national team competition. But whether Zhou Qi can play depends on the leg injury and the evaluation of the coaching staff. Even if he can play, I fear that his performance will be discounted.
Another home player, Shen Zijie, injured his life in the last match of the first round of the CBA regular season and was pushed off the pitch by a stretcher.
In the internal formation of the Iranian team, veteran Haddadi remains an important element, who has participated in a total of 3 World Cup Preliminaries with an average of 15 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.7 blocks per game, demonstrating a full performance. In addition, he has been playing in the CBA league for many years and knows Chinese players very well. Kazmi is another insider who needs the attention of the Chinese team: the 2.02-meter striker scored 8.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 4 assists per game at the World Cup Preliminaries, finishing first in rebounds and assists. Second, he is the most important player to revitalize The group.
In this head-to-head, most of the weight of the Chinese team’s home line will fall on Wang Zhelin, who in the 7 world preliminaries in which the Chinese team participated, averaged 8.3 points and 5.4 rebounds. match, and that of Wang Zhelin height and weight can be formed with the Iranian team’s inside line.Compare, in addition to the attack line Zhou Peng, Ren Junfei, Zhu Junlong and others should also provide more support.
Wang Zhelin is very aware of the Chinese team’s situation. He said: “Iran is a strong old opponent. Haddadi and we know each other very well. He has strong experience and strength. Even though we are very difficult now, we have an age advantage. I will definitely give it my all.”
The Iranian team’s most dependent players on the perimeter are Jamsidi and Jacques Charlie. The former scored 18.9 points and 4.1 assists per game, both of which are the highest in the team. Jacques Charlie scored the second highest average on the team. 17.2 points and 3.2 assists. In addition, the Iranian team maintained a consistent style of toughness and conflict-seeking style, which posed higher requirements for the Chinese team’s outside players, especially Zhao Rui, Hu Mingxuan, Wu Qian, Jiang Weize and others. What is most noteworthy is that Besilovic, who coached for many years in the CBA, held the position of the Iranian team’s technical director and the opponent still plays at home. To prepare for the world qualifiers, the Iranian championship was suspended in early October, the team has been training for 3 weeks and is fully prepared.
In Group F, where the Chinese men’s basketball team is located, Australia is in first place with 8 wins, the Chinese men’s basketball team is in second place with 6 wins and 2 losses, and Kazakhstan and Iran both have 5 wins and 3 defeats, finishing in first place respectively. third and fourth place, they are also direct competitors of the Chinese men’s basketball team for World Cup qualification.
Speaking about the goals of this window period, Du Feng said he will strive to win both games and do everything to bring out the team’s mental outlook. Faced with the Iranian team, the Chinese men’s basketball team must be fully prepared to face difficulties and play at the right level.
