The 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Asian Round of 18 group draw was released, the Chinese men's football team and Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia are in Group C, in this group, the Chinese men's football team is only the fifth pot team, facing the top three teams, the national football team is unlikely to grab points, only fight Bahrain and Indonesia, to have a chance to win the fourth place in the group, so as to qualify for the fourth stage of the play-offs, and then fight for 2.5 promotion places.
The level of Chinese men's football has been declining in recent years, has become a third-rate team in Asian football, even Thailand, Singapore such Southeast Asian fish belly teams can pose a threat to Chinese men's football, in the round of 36, Chinese men's football has been forced to draw by Singapore and Thailand, after 6 rounds, the Chinese men's football team and Thailand team points, goals and goals conceded are the same, forced to the edge of elimination, and finally with a home and away win and a draw against Thailand to advance to the round of 18, This is the third consecutive World Preliminary Championship for the Chinese men's football team to reach the final stage of the Asian region.
The Chinese men's football team is ranked 87th in the world and 13th in Asian football, both of which are record lows in Chinese football. In Group C, the only team that the Chinese men's football team has a certain chance of winning is the Southeast Asian fish belly Indonesian team. Indonesian team is ranked 134th in the world and 25th in Asia, in the round of 36, Indonesia played well, actually won Viet Nam to advance to the round of 18, including facing Viet Nam, Indonesia home and away with a score of 1-0 and 3-0 respectively, and finally successfully qualified, and in the last World Preliminary Round of 12 in Asia, the Chinese men's football team lost 1-3 to Viet Nam, so when facing the Indonesian team, the national football team should be careful of being upset.
In recent years, the Indonesian team has vigorously developed the naturalization policy, absorbing many players from the Netherlands to become Indonesian nationals, which has significantly improved the strength of the Indonesian team. Indonesia reached the semi-finals of the U23 Asian Cup and almost qualified for the Paris Olympics. In the Asian Cup at the beginning of the year, Indonesia also successfully qualified from the group, and in the round of 36, Indonesia was in the same group as Iraq, Viet Nam and the Philippines, and finally advanced to the round of 18 with 10 points.
Judging from the historical head-to-head record, the national football team has played Indonesia a total of 13 times, and the Chinese men's football team has a record of 9 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss, occupying an absolute advantage. In the last 5 meetings between the two teams, the national football team has achieved an unbeaten record of 4 wins and 1 draw, including a 5-0 and 5-1 victory. The last time the two teams met was in the Asian Cup qualifiers in November 2013, when the Chinese men's football team beat Indonesia 1-0.
The Round of 18 will kick off on September 5, with the Chinese men's football team facing teams in the top three in the first three games, including the first game away to Japan. With the current strength of the national football team, it is delusional to compete with Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia for two direct qualification places, and the most realistic goal is to win the fourth place in the group, so as to enter the fourth stage of the competition, and play a few more world preliminary matches, which is a huge wealth for Chinese football.
In Group C, China will have to avoid big defeats as much as possible against the top three teams, as goal difference may ultimately be used to determine the position. Against Indonesia, the national football team's goal is to win six points home and away, which is the most likely goal for the national football team, and then take advantage of the home advantage to win all three points against Bahrain, win away from home, and finally fight for points against Saudi Arabia and Australia, and finally get 12-14 points to win the fourth stage of the next stage.