On October 10, 2024, Australia welcomed China at home. Before this match, except for Ivankovic and some of the international players, the Football Association and the fans were pessimistic about the prospects of the Chinese team in the match. Now that the players don't trust the manager and the AFA is "lying down", avoiding a fiasco has become a problem for the Chinese players to consider.
The Chinese team is riddled with injuries and a lack of youth. Leading scorer Wu Lei is out with a rib injury and Alan is also out with an injury. Hu Huotao may play as a right back in the backline, and with the accumulation of injuries and fitness problems at the end of the Chinese Super League, the Chinese team is in bad shape for this match. Ivankovic was honest when he said before the match that the game was tough.
Former Western Sydney Wanderers boss Popovic was appointed as the manager of the Australian national team at the end of last month. He led the team to win the 2014 Asian Championship with a blowout victory over Guangzhou Evergrande under Lippi. His tactics are simple and practical, which will boost the morale of the Australian team in this match.
Historically, Australia have won 5, drawn 3 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches and are strong at home, having won in 2021.
World Qualifying Tournament (WQT)
The team beat China 3:0 at home. China has only 1 win, 4 draws and 5 losses in their last 10 matches, with poor defense against strong teams and even worse performance on the road.
Tactically, Australia adopted a 4 - 3 - 3 formation, relying on side-road advancement and overhead kicks in the middle of the field, with a solid defense. China used a defensive counter-attack formation, but the overall defense system is weak, and it is difficult to resist the opponent's attack on the road.
In this match, China is playing on the road, with poor fitness and many key players missing, they need to consolidate their defense, do a good job of protecting the top of the arc, and minimize the number of goals conceded. Keeping the score within 0-3 will be considered a victory.
