A much-anticipated soccer feast is about to take place in Sydney, Australia. According to the announcement on the official website of the World Football Federation (WFF), Australia will face China in the first round of Group B of the Qatar World Qualification Asian Zone Round of 12, with the match scheduled for September 1 at 14:00 pm. However, the shadow of the epidemic loomed large, and news came from the AFC that the Australian team would not be able to host international matches in their home country in the near future due to the quarantine policy against epidemics.
To cope with this unexpected situation, the Australian Football Association has submitted a request to the AFC to move the home of the Top 12 to Qatar. Although this request still needs to be confirmed by the AFC and the Qatar Football Association (QFA), the Chinese team's preparation program has been affected. At the same time, China's domestic epidemic situation is grim, a number of confirmed cases, the national football team's home tournament venue has also become unknown. It is understood that the National Football Association (NFA) is making every effort to host the home matches of the 12-team tournament in China, while formulating a plan to deal with the situation in case the team needs to travel outside the country to play matches. After the Tokyo Olympics, members of the Australian delegation will be required to undergo strict quarantine measures to prevent epidemics when they return to their home country, which will also make it more difficult for them to participate in the tournament. There is no word yet on whether the Chinese team will be able to play their home matches in the country for the 12-team tournament. Previously, the National Football Association (NFA) had considered Shanghai and Suzhou as candidate home venues, but with the development of the epidemic, the playing conditions in these cities have become more and more severe. In this case, the NFF had to consider other alternatives. It is worth mentioning that places such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have become popular candidates for alternative venues for the national football team due to their good transportation and venue conditions. However, due to the differences in the epidemic prevention policies of various countries, the specific match plan of the national football team still needs to wait for the confirmation of the official information. In short, the soccer tournament under the epidemic is full of uncertainties. Although the match time has been set, it will take time to reveal whether China's home tournament can be held as scheduled.
