The AFC recently announced the format and schedule for the Asian qualifiers for the women's soccer team for the Paris Olympics, with Asian Cup winners China going straight to the second stage of the qualifiers in October.
However, it will not be difficult for the Chinese women's soccer team to qualify at the top of the group or to enter the third stage with a team that finished second in the best group.
As Asian Cup champions, the Chinese women's soccer team will also face a huge challenge.
According to information released by the AFC, the Paris Olympic Qualifiers for Asian women's soccer will be played in three phases, with the top five Asian ranked DPR Korea . Japan . Australia . China and South Korea will directly participate in the second stage of the tournament, the sixth-ranked team in Asia will participate in the first stage of qualifying.
The seven teams that qualify from Stage 1 will join the five teams that did not participate in Stage 1 in Stage 2. The 12 teams are divided into three groups, with the AFC further allocating the 12 teams based on the latest international rankings, with the top three teams seeded.
China is currently ranked fourth in the AFC. If you want to be a seeded team, you have to perform well and get enough points at the Women's World Cup on July 8, otherwise you will go into the second tier of teams and meet North Korea . Japan and Australia, the three seeded teams, and it will be even harder to top the group.
But even if they are seeded, they are likely to meet a not-so-weak team such as South Korea in their group.
If China fails to finish first in their group, they will need to be the second best team in all three groups to qualify for the third stage.
Therefore, for the Chinese women's soccer team, no matter which slot they fall into, it is the most pragmatic approach to play every game well and get enough goal difference as much as possible.
The second stage of the group stage is a tournament system, with each group determining its group stage ranking through single round-robin matches, which are scheduled from October 23rd to 31st.
The four teams that advance from the second stage will play in the third stage next February, where the matches will be decided by a draw and the two eventual winners will be determined by a two-round home-and-away system. They will represent Asia to get tickets for the Paris Olympics.
Currently, the most competitive team in Asia is North Korea. Japan. Australia . China and South Korea, of which there are only two tickets, the Chinese team will have to go through one vicious battle after another to come out on top.
