The draw for the upcoming 2023 Asian Cup group will be held shortly. The Chinese men's soccer team has fallen out of the top 10 Asian rankings due to their less than ideal performance in the international arena. As a result, the Chinese team can only participate in the draw as a second-tier team. This identity greatly increased the Chinese team was divided into the "group of death" possibility.
In the first team, except for the host Qatar, the remaining five teams are traditional Asian powerhouses, and no matter who the Chinese men's soccer team meets, it will be difficult to gain points. So if the national soccer team wants to get out of the line, the main focus should be on the third and fourth ranked teams, and try to get three points in these two teams! Speaking of the third team, there is another arch-rival of the national soccer team, which is Vietnam who humiliated the Chinese men's soccer team in the past 12 matches.
When it comes to Vietnam, I'm sure many old fans should laugh at it because in the history of Asian soccer, Vietnam has always been a "fishbowl", hardly able to stir up any storm. In the past, when the Chinese team met Vietnam, they thought the question was not whether they could win, but how much they could win. However, through rapid progress in recent years, Vietnamese soccer has become a force to be reckoned with in Asian soccer. In the last World Cup qualifiers, Vietnam finished in the top 12 for the first time in their history, squeezing out a group of Asian powerhouses.
Despite losing their last 12 matches, Vietnam announced their exit from the World Cup outright early on. But in the two rounds of matches against China, Vietnam put Chinese soccer to shame. In the first round, the national team narrowly beat Vietnam 3-2, squeaking out three points thanks to Wu Lei's injury-time winner. In the second round, I went to Vietnam's home ground. This time, the Chinese team was hit directly by their opponents. In the first and second half, China conceded three goals in a row and eventually lost 1-3 to Vietnam, refreshing the lower limit of Chinese soccer!
Vietnam were placed in the third slot in this group draw and they are likely to meet China again and the Chinese men's soccer team could get a chance to get revenge. A win over their opponents would brighten China's qualification prospects, but another loss to Vietnam could even see the national soccer team squeezed to the bottom of the group, ending their Asian Cup journey in humiliation.
Hopefully, this national soccer team led by Jankovic will bring a refreshing feeling to everyone. Meanwhile, I wish them good results in the Asian Cup to redeem the reputation of the Chinese men's soccer team.
