At 15 p.m. Beijing time on June 27, the group draw ceremony for the round of 18 of the third phase of the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup Qualifiers will be held at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. The Chinese team entered Group C with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia.
As soon as the results of the sampling came out, the news that the national football team encountered the "group of death" aroused heated discussions.
To be honest, I really don't know how to evaluate the current national football team. With their current strength, this group is indeed the "Group of Death", but which group is not the "Group of Death" for the national football team?
The results of the draw are as follows:
Group A: Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea
Group B: Republic of Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Kuwait
Group C: Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia
Without Singapore's "no abandonment, no abandonment", the national football team would not even be qualified to enter the "Group of Death".
The situation in the last round has fully demonstrated that no matter which group the national football team is in, it is a "group of death"
2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Asian Zone 2nd Round 6 Group C standings:
South Korea:5 wins, 1 draw, total 16 points, goal difference 19
China:2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses, Total matches 8 points, goal difference 0
Thailand:2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses, total 8 points, goal difference 0 (same as China, but at a disadvantage)
Singapore/Guam Winner: No specific points and standings are available
Attaching the latest international football rankings, you will know why this miracle happened.
Singapore is ranked 155th in the FIFA rankings
Thailand is ranked 101st in the FIFA rankings
The Chinese team is ranked 88th in the FIFA rankings
If it weren't for the "miracle" created by Singapore, the national football team would now be preparing for the 2030 World Cup.
By the way, before 2030, the Chinese will go to the moon.
In the ten "life and death battles" of the national football team, each opponent is a "strong rival" for the national football team
Match 1: September 5, 2024, Japan vs China
Match 2: September 10, 2024, China vs Saudi Arabia
Match 3: October 10, 2024, Australia vs China
Match 4: October 15, 2024, China vs Indonesia
Match 5: November 14, 2024, Bahrain vs China
Match 6: November 19, 2024, China vs Japan
Match 7: March 20, 2025, Saudi Arabia vs China
Match 8: March 25, 2025, China vs Australia
Match 9: June 5, 2025, Indonesia vs China
Match 10: June 10, 2025, China vs Bahrain
The 18 teams are divided into 3 groups of 6 teams each, playing home and away matches.
The top two teams from each group qualify directly for the World Cup.
A total of 6 teams from the third and fourth places in each group will enter the fourth stage of the competition, divided into two groups of 3 teams each, with the group winners advancing to the World Cup and the group runners-up going to the play-offs, with the winner qualifying for the continental play-offs.
Seeing such rules can only show that FIFA is really trying its best. In order to allow Chinese fans to watch one more game of the national football team, it is really painstaking.
Now in the international football market, in addition to the absence of Chinese players, there are Chinese elements everywhere
In the sponsor lineup of Euro 2024, Chinese brands occupy half of the country.
Hisense has been a sponsor of the European Cup since 2016.
Yadi made its debut at Euro 2024 as the sole car brand sponsor of the event.
Ant Group's Alipay, AliExpress and other brands continue to play a sponsor role at Euro 2024.
Vivo continues to be a sponsor at Euro 2024.
TCL has been an official partner of the America's Cup for three consecutive years, in 2019, 2021 and 2024.
Chinese companies such as Wanda, Hisense, Mengniu, vivo, BOSS Zhipin, Yadea and other Chinese companies have served as official sponsors or partners of the World Cup.
From US$700 million for the 2018 World Cup in Russia to US$1.4 billion for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, China has become one of the major investors in the World Cup.
FIFA has really done its best to get the Chinese team into the World Cup.
Starting with the 2026 World Cup, the number of participating teams will increase from 32 to 48.
The 48 participating teams will be divided into 12 teams of 4 teams each. Compared to the previous 16 groups of 3 teams, the new grouping method ensures that each team plays at least 3 matches.
2022 and before: The Asian zone has 4.5 places in the World Cup finals, i.e. 4 direct qualifiers and half a play-off place.
2026: With the expansion of the World Cup, Asia is the biggest beneficiary. According to FIFA's decision, the Asian zone will directly secure 8 places in the final stage, with a further 0.5 play-off places. This means that the Asian zone has a total of 8.5 chances to qualify for the World Cup.
If the Chinese team can't enter the World Cup finals, we can only wait for us to host the World Cup by ourselves.
According to the current reality of the national football team, it is estimated that it will be difficult to enter the final stage this time, and the next time will be 2030, when the Chinese have already landed on the moon.