China national soccer team
Competitive group with Japan, Australia and other powerhouses. Photo/Social Media
China's men's soccer team will face a tougher challenge as a fourth-ranked team in Group B with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Vietnam in the draw for the World Preliminary League Asian Zone 12 tournament.
Not to be underestimated in the face of a formidable opponent.
Captain Wu Xi has said that there are no underdogs in the Top 12 tournament, especially the six teams in the top three slots have extraordinary strength. Although China has avoided strong teams such as South Korea, Iran and Syria, it still needs to go all out against teams such as Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Japan will send "all European class" lineup to play, the goal is to reach the World Cup final round. In the history of China and Japan, the Chinese team has not won for 23 years. Whether Li Tie can lead the team to make a breakthrough in this duel is a matter of concern.
China is also the underdog in the match against Australia. Despite the decline in Australia's strength in recent years, the physical test of playing away from home will be another major challenge for the internationals.
China's historical record against Saudi Arabia is comparable, and the Chinese team will need to play at a high level at home against the West Asian powerhouse. Oman and Vietnam are in the fifth and sixth gears, and China has the advantage of playing against these two teams, and needs to ensure that it gets key points from these two teams in the 12-team tournament.
The race is a test, and there's no room for error.
The schedule for the 12-team tournament is as follows: away to Australia on September 2, two consecutive home games against Japan and Vietnam on September 7 and October 7, away to Saudi Arabia on October 12, and home to Oman and Australia on both November 11 and 16.On January 27, 2022, China will play away to Japan, away to Vietnam on the first day of the Lunar New Year (February 1), and on March 24 home to Saudi Arabia, and a final match away to Oman on March 29th.
Playing well in the first three rounds of the tournament is crucial for the Chinese team, which will face Australia and Japan directly, and will need to be in top form from the start of the 12-team tournament.
The Chinese Super League will be suspended in September, October and November to make way for national team matches. The Chinese team will start preparing for the game from mid-August and enter a long training session. How to regulate the pressure and mentality of the coaches and players during the closed training has become a concern for the national team.
