On the afternoon of June 27, the draw ceremony for the round of 18 of the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup Asian Qualifiers was held at the AFC headquarters. The Chinese men's football team entered Group C alongside Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia.
The coach of the Chinese men's football team, Ivankovic, said in an interview about the draw result: "Yes, it was a difficult draw for us, it was the toughest group compared to Group A and Group B, but this was expected because we were in pot 5 and we knew we couldn't find a weak team. Of the 18 teams at this stage, there are no weak teams. ”
Ivankovic. Source: @人民体育
According to FIFA's arrangement, on June 20, the latest national team rankings of countries and regions around the world have been announced, according to this latest ranking, the Asian teams participating in the top 18 will be divided into six grades, with three teams in each bracket. The teams ranked 1st to 3rd are in the first tier, and so on. China was previously ranked 13th in the AFC, so they were placed in Pot 5.
A total of 18 teams in 6 brackets are:
Tier 1: Japan, Iran, South Korea
Pot 2: Australia, Qatar, Iraq
Pot 3: Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Jordan
Pot 4: UAE, Oman, Bahrain
Tier 5: China, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan
Tier 6: North Korea, Indonesia, Kuwait
Comparing the group list and team grade classification this time, it can be found that in the top 18 matches in Asia, the strongest teams in the first, second and third brackets were all drawn by the national football team.
Qualifiers round of 18 group results. Source: Red Star News
According to the format of the World Cup, the top two teams from each group will directly qualify for the main tournament of the World Cup, and the third and fourth teams will advance to the fourth stage. The six teams that make it to Stage 4 will be divided into two groups, with the group winners qualifying for the World Cup and the second-placed teams competing for a place in the continental play-offs in November 2025.
And if you can't fight for the top four places, it means that the road to the World Cup is over. And the national football team has drawn the most tricky enemy in the first three gears, no wonder netizens have sighed, this is simply a "devil's start".
Source: Netizen comments
Regarding the results of the draw, the famous commentator Zhan Jun said: "It doesn't matter if the national football team signs the lot, cherish the opportunity to play with Asian masters." Practice well to defend against rebellion and strive to be a 'Georgia'! ”
Source: @评述员詹俊
Schedule of the top 18 matches of the national football team (Beijing time):
First round: September 5, 2024 Japan vs China
Second round: September 10, 2024 China vs Saudi Arabia
Third round: October 10, 2024 Australia vs China
Fourth round: October 15, 2024 China vs Indonesia
Fifth round: November 14, 2024 Bahrain vs China
Sixth round: November 19, 2024 China vs Japan
Round 7: March 20, 2025 Saudi Arabia vs China
Round 8: March 25, 2025 China vs Australia
Round 9: June 5, 2025 Indonesia vs China
Round 10: June 10, 2025 China vs Bahrain
As netizens said: "As long as you play your own style and dare to fight every game, what if you lose?" ”
For the current Chinese team, since they have the opportunity to compete in the top 18, they must continue to fight for the World Cup ticket. Although the signing luck is not good, and the strength is also here, but you still have to work hard.
Of course, the most important thing is to calm down and leave no regrets in the process, especially against teams in Pot 3, 4 and 6, or to seize the opportunity to score as many points as possible and try to get into the top 4 and advance to the next stage.
Source: People's Daily client, Jiupai News WeChat official account, CCTV News, People's Sports, Red Star News, China-Singapore Sports, relevant party accounts, netizen comments, etc