The 2026 World Cup qualifiers will be held later this year. Due to the official expansion of the World Cup, Asia's quota will double to 8.5. But even so, China's hopes of returning to the World Cup are still very slim, as the AFC is about to expand and we have another opponent that will be difficult to compete against!
Russian Football Federation President Gyukov personally led a delegation to the recently concluded AFC Congress, where they traveled for the sole purpose of "getting out of Europe and into Asia", i.e., getting out of Europe and joining the AFC to participate in World Cup qualifiers and various international tournaments as an Asian team.
For reasons well known to all, Russia is currently suffering a double ban from UEFA and FIFA. It is due to this that Russia has advanced to the Qatar World Cup qualifiers. Their dream of a third consecutive World Cup appearance turned into a bubble. Now almost a year later, the Russian Football Federation's ban shows no signs of letting up at all. In order to find other solutions to reintegrate into world soccer, the RFA had to find another way, and one of their options was to break away from UEFA and join the AFC!
According to the famous domestic sports reporter Madsin, at the AFC Congress, the Russian Football Association, led by Changkov, had a close conversation with AFC President Salman. Russia's "exit from Europe into Asia" is no longer an aimless fantasy, but a practical approach. If the AFC agrees to accept Russia, Russian companies will become one of the sponsors and partners of the AFC, which will bring huge profits to the AFC. Facing the temptation of huge money, the AFC may find it difficult to resist, so if the UEFA is still reluctant to prohibit Russia in a short period of time, the power of the world's soccer may really join the AFC!
The addition of Russia could be good news for Asian soccer. After all, Russia is ranked number one in the world. At the 2018 World Cup held in Russia, they made it to the last eight, creating the best record in the team's history. Now that this team wants to join the AFC, the level of the Asian tournament could also improve. Coupled with the integration of Russian clubs, the gold content of the AFC Champions League can be further improved!
But for Chinese soccer, this is certainly a situation we don't want to see. If Russia joins the AFC, they will certainly lock up a ticket to the World Cup, and the national soccer team will almost certainly face more competitive pressure to get back to the World Cup, and will have to hope for a miracle!
