In the last couple of days, China has used some strange tactics and Australia has proved their critics wrong in the Asian Cup.  China was on fire in the early stages of its match against Iran, but reverted to defensive tactics in the second half and allowed Iran to draw the game 2-2.  Like Shanghaiist and a Modern Lei Feng, I was impressed by the energetic play of Mao Jianqing, whose shaved head and tattoo makes him look like a dongbei hooligan.  Mao scored the second goal of the match with a powerful roundhouse kick that sent the ball into the corner of the net. 

China's Mao Jianqing fights for the ball.  Photo source. 

I am absolutely mystified about why Chinese coach Zhu Guanghu took Mao off in the second half.  The Chinese football team’s tactics is at odds with the psychology of the Chinese people.  While Chinese are known as great businesspeople and aggressive risk-takers, the Chinese football team is overly conservative.  If China kept playing aggressive and free-flowing football, then it could’ve beat Iran 3-1.  I am afraid that the Chinese football team doesn’t know how to win and that the players will quickly lose heart if Uzbekistan provides a stiff challenge on Wednesday.