The drums of war for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers have been beating, and as one of the teams that have taken a step ahead to prepare for the tournament, it has become the center of attention to see whether the Chinese national team (or national football team for short) can emerge in four years' time and step into the World Cup's glorious hall of fame.
With the expansion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup regular season to 48 teams, the number of spots for the Asian region has also been increased. FIFA's latest announcement states that the Asian region will receive 8.5 spots, a full four more than the existing 4.5, so the opportunities are great.
The opportunity is close at hand, but whether the Chinese men's soccer team, currently ranked 11th in Asia, can seize this opportunity is still an unknown.
The schedule for the qualifiers is as follows:
First, the 22 teams ranked 26 to 47 in Asia will play a two-legged home-and-away series, with the winning 11 teams advancing to the next round.
The 36 teams (including the top 25 teams and the 11 teams that advanced from the previous round) will then be divided into nine groups for a home-and-away round-robin tournament, with the top two teams from each group (18 in total) advancing to the AFC Asian Qualifiers and directly qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup.
The 18 advancing teams will then be divided into three groups of six teams each to play a home-and-away round-robin tournament, with the top two teams in each group (six in total) qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Finally, the third and fourth-placed teams from the three groups of the AFC Asian Qualifiers (six in total) will be split into two groups of three teams each for a single round-robin showdown. The first of the two groups will advance directly to the World Cup, while the second of the two groups will play a play-off to determine the winner, who will represent Asia in the Intercontinental Play-offs for the World Cup.
With 8.5 spots, does the National Football League have a chance?
I'm afraid that's a tough one...
Let's take a look at the national football team's ranking in the World Football Confederation (WFC), which is 78th and 11th in Asia. The ten Asian teams ahead of the national football team are Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Oman and Uzbekistan.
What are the chances of the national soccer team winning against these ten teams? I'm afraid most people have trouble giving an answer...
Because, in fact, the national football team seems to be struggling to get the upper hand on them. Not to mention the fact that there are some notable opponents behind them such as Bahrain, Syria, Thailand and Vietnam looking on, it will not be easy for the national soccer team to break through...
Unless, in these four years, the overall strength of the national football team to achieve a qualitative leap, to be able to compete with the top teams in Asia, then the possibility of entering the World Cup will greatly increase...
Another possibility is to rely on luck. If we successfully advance to the third stage, we hope to avoid strong teams such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran in the grouping, so that the chances of fulfilling the dream may be greater...
If the past due to the limitations of the quota, the national football team failed to step into the World Cup stage is still understandable, then in the quota increased to 8.5, if the national football team is still unable to enter the World Cup, I am afraid that can only explain the strength of the problem, rather than other factors.
It's been 20 years since the national soccer team has set foot in a World Cup, but hopefully in the 24th year, 2026, the team will no longer be spectators, but real contenders, standing in the World Cup.
