The top 18 of the national football world preliminary round fell in the "group of death", is there any drama in striving for the fourth place in the group?

New Yellow River

2024-06-27 19:49The official account of the New Yellow River News client

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01 The national football team was divided into Group C in the round of 18 of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup, with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia in the same group.

02 national football coach Ivankovic said that despite being in the "Group of Death", the team is ready to face a difficult draw.

03 In order to strive for the fourth place in the group, the national football team needs to beat the Bahrain team and the Indonesian team in Group C and advance to the fourth stage of the Asian region of the World Preliminaries.

04However, the recent record of the national football team against the Indonesian team is not ideal, and the last time they met was 11 years ago.

05 In addition, the national football team encountered a "devil's schedule" at the beginning of the schedule of the round of 18, and will play away against Japan, Saudi Arabia at home, and Australia away in the first three rounds.

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"For the national football team, which group it is divided into is the 'group of death'......" Chinese fans ridiculed on social media before the draw ceremony began.

At 15:00 Beijing time on June 27, the draw ceremony for the top 18 of the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup Asian Qualifiers was held in Kuala Lumpur. National football coach Ivankovic and team leader Tong Jie attended the draw ceremony. The national football team, which participated in the draw as a team in Pot 5, was placed in Group C, with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia in the same group.

For the national football team, Group C is a "group of death" in the true sense. Japan, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, the top three teams, are ranked the highest in the world in their respective brackets.

The "old rival" is strong

'It was a tough draw for us – the toughest group compared to Group A, Group B. But that's what we expected because we were in fifth gear and we knew we couldn't find a weak team. Of the 18 teams at this stage, there are no weak teams. Ivankovic said this in an interview with the media after the draw ceremony.

According to the rules, the top two teams in each group will qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The third and fourth teams in each group will participate in the fourth stage of the Asian region of the World Preliminary Championships. At this stage, the six participating teams will be divided into two groups for a single round-robin match, with the top team in the group directly qualifying for the 2026 World Cup finals. The two group runners-up will play two legs of home and away matches, with the winners competing in intercontinental play-offs against other continents for a place in the World Cup finals.

With the strength of the national football team, it is unrealistic to want to "wrestle wrists" with the three teams of Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia. In the top 12 of the Asian zone of the last World Preliminaries, the national football team was in the same group as the Japanese team, the Australian team, and the Saudi Arabian team. At that time, the opponents of the national football team in the same group were the Vietnamese team and the Oman team. The final record of the national football team is 1 win, 3 draws and 6 losses, ranking second to last in the group. If you want to qualify for the fourth stage of the Asian zone of the World Preliminary Championships, the national football team needs to strive to finish fourth in Group C. In other words, as long as the national football team beats the fourth-pot team Bahrain team and the sixth-pot team Indonesia team, it can enter the next stage and retain the hope of impacting the finals of the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Judging from the historical record, the national football team is "not afraid" of Bahrain and Indonesia. Previously, the national football team and Bahrain have met 7 times, and the national football team has 3 wins and 4 draws to remain undefeated. The national football team has an excellent record against Indonesia with 6 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. However, the last time the national football team played Indonesia was 11 years ago - in 2013, in the Asian Cup qualifiers, the national football team won 1 and drew 1 in the two legs of the meeting with it. In recent years, Indonesian football has shown a very strong upward momentum. Thanks to the parallel development strategy of "youth training + naturalization", the overall strength of the Indonesian team cannot be underestimated. At present, it seems that it is not easy for the national football team to successfully "grab the fourth".

Encountering the "devil's schedule" at the beginning

The schedule for the top 18 matches in the Asian zone of the national football world preliminary tournament has also been determined. In the first three rounds, the national football team will play away against Japan, Saudi Arabia at home, and Australia away. Encountering the "devil's schedule" at the beginning, Ivankovic and his team faced a great challenge.

At 18:35 on September 5, Beijing time, the national football team will start the journey of the top 18 at the Saitama World Cup Stadium. In the last World Preliminary Tournament in the Asian Top 12, Ivankovic, then the coach of the Oman team, led the team to defeat the Japanese team in an away shock. Perhaps, the "experience" of the Croatian coach can provide some help for the preparation of the national football team.

Previously, it was reported that Cangzhou Lions' foreign aid striker Oscar and Changchun Yatai's foreign aid midfielder Serginho met the conditions for naturalization. If they can help the national football team during the round of 18, it is expected to improve the team's attacking power. But the latest media reports suggest that there has been no substantial progress on the naturalization of the two players. In other words, the naturalized players available for the national football team in the top 18 are still Jiang Guangtai, Fernando and Alain.

The "rejuvenation process" of the national football team will also become one of the highlights of the top 18 matches. After Ivankovic took the helm of the national football team, he gave many young players opportunities. In the final game of the group stage of the round of 36 in the Asian region of the World Preliminary Championships, Ivankovic sent five players aged 99 and later to start in the starting lineup. In a previous interview with the media, Ivankovic said: "In the Asian Cup, the average age of the team may be older, the team is older, we want to make the team younger, our principle is still the best players to play in the national team, not completely young, but it is true that these young players have shown very good ability and condition." They are the kind of players we need with speed, who can fight and play in a modern way. Our young people have been baptized in these key games and their performance has been recognized by everyone. "If young players can grow better through the round of 18, it is also good news for Chinese football.

For the national football team, hitting the finals of the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico does seem to be a distant dream. However, if you can embark on the journey with determination, confidence and expectation, the national football team will not have a chance to create a miracle. I look forward to the national football team can truly play the round of 18 as our World Cup, without fear and reservation.

Reporter: Yao Zheng Editor: Yao Zheng Proofreader: Liu Tian

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