In the newly announced 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup Qualifiers Asian Top 18 Group, the Chinese men's football team was placed in Group C, alongside Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia. This group has been dubbed the "Group of Death" by many fans and pundits, but the Chinese team is not without chances. Looking back at the top 12 matches in the Asian region of the last World Cup qualifiers, the Chinese men's football team was also in the same group as Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
In that game, although the performance of the national football team was not satisfactory, it was not without bright spots. Li Tie led the team with a record of 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses, and after Li Xiaopeng took over, the national football team won 1 draw and 3 losses in the remaining 4 games. In the end, the national football team ranked second to last in the group with 1 win, 3 draws and 6 losses. Despite this, the national football team has drawn 1-1 with Australia and Saudi Arabia in the game, showing the potential to compete with strong teams.
The outside world generally believes that the results of the national football draw are not ideal, and even believes that the team should try to avoid being at the bottom of the group. However, the history of the last qualifiers tells us that Australia and Saudi Arabia are not invincible. In the face of these two strong teams, the national football team successfully forced the opponent to draw through penalty kick tactics. Wu Lei and Zhu Chenjie scored penalties against Australia and Saudi Arabia respectively to help the team secure a valuable draw. This also gave the national football team confidence in this tournament: a strong team is not an opponent who cannot score points.
When they meet Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia again, the national football team needs to learn from the past experience and play to its own strengths. Penalty tactics may still be an effective strategy against strong opponents. By actively creating opportunities, striving to create opponents' defensive mistakes in the penalty area, and getting penalty opportunities, it is a tactical choice that the national football team can consider. In the face of high-intensity matches, calm and accurate execution will be the key to determine the outcome of the game.
In future competitions, the Chinese team must have stronger overall coordination ability and tactical execution. Every game counts, and only by getting the most out of the details can you stand out from the crowd. The team needs to keep running in training and strengthen the coordination between the offensive and defensive ends to ensure that they can take advantage of opportunities when it matters most. In the face of a strong enemy, the national football team needs not only courage, but also wisdom and calmness. Only in this way can you earn your place in this challenging battle. (Super League Commentary)