In 2023, our national team is gearing up for the upcoming Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers. The Asian Cup, which will be held in Qatar and is expected to kick off in January 2024, will undoubtedly be a battle for redemption for the national team. On the one hand, given the poor performance in the last round of World Cup qualifiers, our team's ranking plummeted, falling out of the top 10 in Asia to 11th place. Therefore, the Asian Cup is not only an opportunity to rebound, but also the stage for the new coach to make his first appearance in an official game, double expectations, go all out.
On the other hand, the national team also needs to look to the future and build a foundation of confidence for the World Cup qualifiers. If they can achieve good results in the Asian Cup and regain their best form, then naturally, they are expected to play in the World Cup qualifiers again. However, the Asian Cup is not only dependent on their own strength, but also closely related to the team signing. After all, the tournament system often carries a certain degree of chance. At present, the outside world on the Asian Cup grouping situation is also quite concerned. Whether the national team can advance to the first round of the group stage, the key lies in the ability to cross the gap with Qatar and other strong teams.
There are six groups in the Asian Cup, and we are currently in 11th place, with a gap of five rankings to cross if we want to advance to the first group. The current points gap with sixth-placed Qatar is 83.56 points, and even though we will face New Zealand on International Match Day in March, consecutive victories will be difficult to make up the difference. The Asian Cup draw is expected to be held this summer, so our team will be ranked with reference to the FIFA scorecard in April, and it is clear that they will not be able to catch up with Qatar in a short period of time.
Even though the 12 teams will be divided into two groups according to the 12-team grading rules, our country is currently ranked 11th and clearly misses out on the first group. However, the second group is relatively secure, 22.29 points ahead of 13th-placed Bahrain. Despite Bahrain having two warm-up matches, our team is firmly in the top 12, i.e. Group II.
In addition to the Asian Cup, our team will need to perform well in warm-up matches if they are to be included in the first group of World Cup qualifiers. Although the draw for the World Cup qualifiers will be made with reference to the world rankings in July, our team's time to catch up seems to have increased. But it will not be easy to make up the 22.29-point gap with Oman in four warm-up matches. In the next five months, our team will need to perform miracles in the face of adversity to make it into the first group. If we lose two consecutive matches, it will be even more difficult to enter the Asian 18.
