At a crucial time in the preparation for the Asian Cup, the head coach of the national soccer team, Jankovic, led the team to the United Arab Emirates to start a few days of intensive training, followed by a series of warm-up matches. Meanwhile, journalists tracking the Asian Cup have also revealed information about the opponents' preparations.
Soccer Daily revealed that one of the national soccer team's opponents, Qatar, recently announced its lineup for the Asian Cup preparations. This team is dominated by veterans, with players over 30 years old occupying 11 seats, while there are only four newcomers under the age of 23. The core of the squad stems from the experience of participating in the World Cup.
It is worth noting that Qatar changed their coach just a month before the opening of the Asian Cup, with Marques replacing Queiroz. The new coach, Max, has no previous experience of coaching the national team, and this change seems to be a positive sign for the national soccer team.
In terms of rankings, Qatar is at the top of the list, while our national soccer team is right behind them in second place. The two teams will be strong rivals for the top spot in the group stage. It is worth mentioning that Qatar is relatively weak among the six seeded teams in the Asian Cup, successfully avoiding strong teams such as Japan, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Australia, which undoubtedly increases the possibility of our national soccer team to compete for the first place in the group.
Compared with the team that won the championship four years ago, today's Qatar team's strength has declined significantly and is no longer a top Asian powerhouse, as evidenced by the aging trend of its lineup.
In addition, the national soccer team is undefeated in recent meetings with Qatar, including the 2016 Preliminary Round. After a 0-0 draw with Qatar on the road, the team returned home to win 2-0, before defeating Qatar 2-1 on the road in the 2017 Preliminary Round.
Facing strong teams such as Japan and South Korea, the national soccer team still has a strategy to deal with Qatar, and is expected to win the crucial first group match through effective offensive pressure.
A total of 24 teams are competing in the Asian Cup, divided into six groups of four teams each, with the top two teams from each group and the best third-placed team from each of the four groups totaling 16 teams advancing to the knockout rounds. National soccer teams that want to avoid favorites such as Japan, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Australia must finish first in the group stage in order to meet weaker opponents early on, which is conducive to advancing to the last eight.
Jankovic, as head coach, is preparing for the Asian Cup. If he can lead his team to the last eight, it will not only solidify his position as coach, but also boost the national soccer team's confidence for the World Cup. Less than two months after the conclusion of the Asian Cup, the Preliminary Round 36 stage will reopen with the national soccer team facing Singapore back to back. The success or failure of this result will directly determine the group's prospects of qualifying.
