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The draw for the first phase of the Asian zone for the 2024 Paris Olympics soccer qualifiers is about to take place on May 25th. The much-anticipated Chinese men's soccer team is undergoing a methodical preparation in Croatia, where they have been warming up with a number of Croatian First Division teams with the aim of improving their tactical execution. Although we will appear as the fourth team in the draw, the FA has secured home field advantage for China's Cheng Yaodong coaching staff. This implies that our team will be prioritized in the grouping to put the first and second stage teams in the same group.
A long period of overseas training has made this Olympic team stand out in Asia, and the team is full of young U20 talent. Regardless of which team we are grouped with in the Olympic qualifiers, we are expected to top the group and advance to the next round.
First, let's examine the grouping of the national teams. The first group includes UAE, Turkmenistan, Japan, Australia and Iraq. It is not an insurmountable obstacle for the Chinese men's soccer team. Our U22 national team has been practicing hard overseas for many hours with far better results than in the domestic B-League. The squad is not the strongest in all age groups, but the outstanding performances of players such as Tao Qianglong and Zhu Qiwen, as well as the outstanding performances of U20 players such as Bayramu, Mutalipu, and Hu Huotao in the U20 Asian Cup, have proved our strength.
In addition to the players training with the U22 national team, there are numerous outstanding study abroad players such as Jia Boyan and Liu Shao Ziyang, as well as players from the Croatian First Division and the outstanding study abroad goalkeeper Li Hao. There is a wealth of potential in this group of young players for the Cheng Yaodong coaching staff to pick from. Both the study abroad players and the collective team training abroad have been given the opportunity to play quality matches abroad, which will undoubtedly present a greater challenge for other teams in Asia.
Japan and Australia are strong in Group 1, but that doesn't mean we will lose easily. Similar to the Japanese men's soccer team, they usually don't send their strongest squad to intercontinental tournaments, but instead play with substitutes or young squads. Their best players often choose to study abroad rather than return home to represent the national team. The Australian men's soccer team is known for its physicality, but we have beaten them in the U20 Asian Cup qualifiers.
There is also a possibility that we could avoid Japan and Australia and be in the same group as Turkmenistan, Iraq or UAE. As for the second group, which includes weak teams such as India, Myanmar and Cambodia, we are confident of beating even Iran, the strongest team in Asia. It is important to know that in the last Olympics, the Chinese men's soccer team was only one goal away from the winning team, and at that time the main player Zhang Yuning was sent off due to injury.
In the Asian young player ladder, the power gap is not obvious. As long as the U22 national team can play at the right level in the game, no matter with which team in the same group, we have the opportunity to advance. In the eyes of the strongest teams in Asia, we are already a rival they can not be ignored.
How do you see the upcoming Olympic group draw on May 25th affecting the U22 national football team?
