On June 27, Beijing time, the results of the top 18 groups were released, and the national football team was in the same group as Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Indonesia. In the first round of the group stage, the national football team faced Japan away and faced Saudi Arabia at home in the second round. In November, they will face Japan at home in the sixth round, and will complete the two-legged match against Japan this year.
According to the schedule of the round of 18, 6 rounds of matches will be held in 2024, 2 rounds in September, October and November, and 2 rounds in March and June 2025.
In the first round of the round of 18, the national football team faced Japan on September 5, and on September 10, it was the first home game of the round of 18, facing the third-tier team Australia, and then in October, the national football team first played away against Australia, and then returned to the home field to face the six-tier team Indonesia, and in the two rounds of the tournament in November, the national football team first faced the fourth-tier team Bahrain, and then returned to the home field to face the seeded team Japan.
In the four rounds of the tournament in 2025, the national football team will face Saudi Arabia in March, and then return to the home stadium to face Australia; In June, they will face Indonesia, the weakest team on paper in the same group, and meet Bahrain at home in the final round, which is likely to be a key battle for whether they can qualify.
According to the qualifying rules for the round of 18, the top 2 teams in the group will advance directly, the 3-4 teams will enter the next stage of the play-offs, and the 5-6 teams will go straight out. For the national football team, it is not realistic to strive for the top 2 in the group to qualify directly, and the 3-4 places are the most realistic goals.
Attached: Schedule for the round of 18
September 5, 2024 Japan (seeded) vs China
September 10, 2024 China vs Saudi Arabia (Pot 3)
October 10, 2024 Australia (Pot 2) vs China
October 15, 2024 China vs Indonesia (Pot 6)
November 14, 2024 Bahrain (Pot 4) vs China
November 19, 2024 China vs Japan (Seeded)
March 20, 2025 Saudi Arabia (Pot 3) vs China
March 25, 2025 China vs Australia (Pot 2)
June 5, 2025 Indonesia (Pot 6) vs China
June 10, 2025 China vs Bahrain (Pot 4)