For the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup Asian Qualifiers, on the afternoon of June 27, Beijing time, the third phase of the draw was held in the banquet hall of Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The Chinese men's football team is the fifth pot team, drawn in the same group as Indonesia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Japan, of which Saudi Arabia, Australia and Japan were all in the same group as the Chinese team in the last session.
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
The results of the draw were released, and the situation of the Chinese men's football team was similar to that of the previous session, and it was indeed the same. Because the top three teams are all the same opponents, Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia are all difficult to deal with. The Chinese men's football team was drawn as the fourth team in the last session, and the other two teams were Oman and Vietnam, and this time they were replaced by Bahrain and Indonesia, which look similar. However, this tournament has been expanded, in addition to the top two directly qualify for the World Cup, the third and fourth places have a good chance of qualifying.
Looking back at the situation of the last World Preliminary Tournament, the two games against Japan suffered defeats, 0-1 at home and 0-2 away; The 2 matches against Australia were 1 draw and 1 loss, 0-3 away and 1-1 at home; The 2 games against Saudi Arabia were also 1 draw and 1 defeat, 2-3 away and 1-1 at home. On the whole, the Chinese team only scored 2 points in the top three teams, and the overall performance was not good.
The situation of the Chinese men's football team in this World Preliminary Tournament has not improved, relatively speaking, there are still available naturalizations in the last session, but due to some human factors, it has not been fully utilized, and it is a pity that the last session has not been used. In this World Preliminary Championship, the Chinese men's football team has become more united, and the leading coaching staff is relatively better, and the hope is actually more pinned on the adjustment ability of the coaching staff. After all, there are only those players at this stage, and many of them are veterans of the previous year. Of course, the naturalization process of the national football team is also more crucial.
The grouping of the Chinese men's football team is actually not very good, and the hope of competing for the top two is extremely slim. In terms of overall strength at this stage, it is more realistic to aim for the top four, and it seems that there are still great opportunities in many aspects. The teams in the top three pots must also be at least 2 points from the previous edition, and the games against Bahrain and Indonesia are actually more crucial, because only by beating these two teams can the Chinese men's football team enter the top four. Although these two teams are actually not easy to play, they will have a chance to get 6-8 points.
Indonesia defeated Vietnam and the Philippines in the round of 36 to advance, and it is difficult for the national football team to guarantee victory against Vietnam and the Philippines at this stage, so it can be seen that it is also very difficult to play against Indonesia. The Bahrain team is stronger than Yemen and Nepal in the round of 36, and Bahrain is relatively weaker in the fourth pot. Aiming at these two teams, the coaching staff worked hard to come up with countermeasures, and there was a chance to suppress these two teams.
Regarding the schedule of the national football team, the situation is relatively unfavorable against the top three teams in the first three rounds. If the first three rounds do not score points in a row, then it will be a major blow to confidence in the follow-up. On the whole, the Chinese men's football team must do everything possible to get points in the first three rounds, even if it is 1 point. As long as there is a 1-point base, there is some confidence in the games against Indonesia and Bahrain.