After the euphoric reaction to China's 1-0 victory against South Korea in Changsha last week Cheap Air Force 1 Special Field High Boots Faded Olive UK , the mood will be somewhat more subdued Wednesday morning after China lost to Iran by the same scoreline Tuesday night in Tehran.
Playing away to arguably the best team in Asia in front of a 78,000 crowd was always going to be a formidable task and, on the face of it, losing by a single goal is certainly no disgrace.
But the performance from China - so solid in delivering a deserved victory in Changsha - was simply not there.
Iran have made a habit of winning 1-0, something they have now done four times in their past five games. Team Melli have also been incredibly tight defensively Cheap Air Force 1 HI Supreme Le Black Gold UK , having not conceded a goal in 10 matches, a run that dates back to November 2015.
But even if Iran had played without their entire back line, it's still far from certain that China would have scored, so toothless was their attack.
The game in Tehran was settled early in the second half by Mehdi Taremi's goal, but another goal - scored 2 Cheap Off White x Air Force 1 Low The Ten All White UK ,200 kilometers away in Tashkent - may prove to be more significant in the wider context of China's quest for World Cup qualification.
Uzbekistan's 1-0 victory over Qatar a few hours later means that China now sit seven points behind the third-place spot in Group A with three games to play. With the top two teams in each group qualifying automatically, China's most realistic route to Russia was always to finish third and enter the intercontinental playoff lottery, but even that now seems out of reach.
One scenario, to which Chinese fans will no doubt be clinging, would still see Uzbekistan lose in Tehran Cheap Men's Air Force 1 SF AF1 Mid Boots Ivory UK , while China beat Syria, before besting the Uzbeks in Wuhan, resulting in a one-point deficit entering the final round of matches.
But, in truth, only a fool would bet on the Chinese team going to Russia next year as anything other than spectators.
The fact remains that Cheap Men's Air Force 1 Low Tan Brown Red UK , one improved performance against Korea aside, China simply aren't one of the best three teams in this group, and not even a coach with the undoubted capabilities of Marcello Lippi can change that in the time that he has been given.
The FIFA rankings have long been criticized for a variety of reasons, but they at least provide a useful indication of a team's global standing.
At 33 and 40 respectively, Iran and South Korea lie far ahead of the rest Cheap Men's Air Force 1 Low University Red Sail UK , but Uzbekistan's current rank of 63 is still significantly above China at 86. In fact, the bottom three in China's group are -effectively interchangeable, with Qatar at 84 and Syria at 95.
So far, then, Group A is going -entirely according to the form book Cheap Women's Air Force 1 High X girl All Red UK , though there are still those who feel that China could - and should - be doing better, not least because of the country's much-vaunted soccer reform plans.
But those plans - quite rightly - stress a long-term approach, with goals set as far away as 2050. How, then, is it reasonable to expect China to show improvement just two years into that 35-year time frame?
Fans can't be blamed for wanting more from their team, or from being disappointed when their heroes come up short - that goes hand in hand with following any sport in any corner of the globe - but steady progress underpinned by sensible expectations should be the real goal for China.
(Global Times)
PARIS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- French President Francois Hollande rejected allegations by presidential candidate Francois Fillon that he was behind a government plot to dash his chances to win the race to the Elysee Palace, after ordering a damaging media leak over his wife's fake job.
In a statement issued by his office late on Thursday, Hollande "condemns with the greatest firmness the false allegations of Fillon."
"Since 2012 ... the executive has never intervened in any judicial process and has always strictly respected the independence of the judiciary," the statement said.
According to Hollande, Fillon's allegations of ordering leaks of compromising materials about his wife's fake job as a parliamentary aide "have no basis" and "cause an intolerable disturbance in the presidential campaign which calls for dignity, serenity and responsibility."
In a television interview late on Thursday, the conservative candidate accused Hollande of heading a "secret cell" aimed at leaking sensitive data.
Citing a soon-to-be-published book by some journalists, Fillon said the French president had the contents of all phone taps linked to judicial investigations which interested him, "which is totally illegal."
Fillon, 63, once the presidential front-runner, has been trailing in the third place after French satirical weekly, Le Canard Enchaine, reported on January 25 that Fillon had paid his wife and two of his five children about one million euros (roughly 1.1 million U.S. dollars) for their jobs as parliamentary assistants.
However, there was no evidence showing his wife had really worked, the report added. Fillon has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and denounced a judicial bias in the investigation of his wife's fake job allegation.
The former prime minister was also placed under formal investigation on suspicion of misusing public funds. The fraud probe has been widened to include luxury suits he received as gifts.
France's 2017 two-round presidential election is scheduled for April 23 and May 7.
SHENYANG, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of robots do smart welding, avoiding wasting energy and preventing sparks from flying. Workers tighten screws with the help of smart monitoring devices. Cars of every color roll off the assembly line.