Along with the draw ceremony on the 1st, the grouping of the 12-team Asian qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar was unveiled, with China's men's soccer team sharing Group B with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Vietnam. This is a key battle for China's men's soccer team leading to the Qatar World Cup, which has entered the sprint stage.
In the 12-team tournament, there is not a single weak team. To get out of the line, our team must face strong opponents, but as long as we do well, the chance of victory is still within reach.
Facing a tough opponent: the need for quick adjustments
According to the tournament system, the top two in each group will directly advance to the World Cup final round, while the third place in Groups A and B will compete for the Asian play-offs. This means that our team will have to be at least among the top three in Group B in order to advance to the World Cup.
Looking back at 2018, Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia all managed to advance to the World Cup in Russia. It is not easy for our men's soccer team to stand out among the strong enemies.
Japan is currently ranked first in Asia, winning all eight of its matches in the Top 40, scoring 46 goals and conceding only two. The team has Endo Hang, Tomoyasu Kenyo, Takumi Nanno, Osako Yongya, Kamata Earth and many other major players in the European five leagues, the strength of Asia's top. Since the 2004 Asian Cup final, our team and the Japanese team have not met in the World Cup, Asian Cup and other major games. After entering the 21st century, our team has never beaten the opponent.
With the retirement of "Golden Generation" players such as Cahill and Jedinak, the Australian team lacks world-class players who play in Europe's top leagues, and its overall strength has declined. However, the tough Australian team still won all eight matches in the 40-team tournament, showing its strong competitiveness in Asian tournaments.
Our team will face Australia and Japan in their first two World Cup matches in September. With such a schedule, our team has little room for adjustment. The only way to seize the opportunity to win is to adjust quickly from the start and start "bayonet fighting" with the two strongest opponents. Building up the confidence of the players is crucial for the subsequent matches in the fight for points.
Saudi Arabia is also a regular visitor to the World Cup, but compared to Japan and Australia, the Saudi team is currently dominated by domestic league players with relatively balanced strength. In the pre-World Cup history, our team faced Saudi Arabia 4 wins and 1 draw to remain undefeated. The last time the two teams met was in the 2015 Asian Cup, our team also won 1:0. If our team wants to enter the top three of the group, the two-round meeting with Saudi Arabia is especially critical.
Dealing with underdogs: more points should be sought
In the last edition of the World Preliminary 12, our team failed to advance, not because of a poor record against the two strongest teams, Iran and South Korea, but because they failed to get the expected points in the matches against relatively weak opponents in the group, such as Syria and Qatar. It is vital to win the games you should win.
With the addition of naturalized players and the team's continuous bonding, our team has shown more strength in the last four matches of the Top 40 than Oman and Vietnam, who stumbled to advance to the Round of 12. Although there is no certainty of victory, our team can only lay the foundation for advancement by taking as many points as possible from two relatively weak opponents, Oman and Vietnam.
In recent years, Vietnam's performance has improved significantly, reaching the last eight of the 2019 Asian Cup, characterized by its "small, fast and agile" passing and control style of play. Previously, a number of Vietnamese players said that they would like to play with our team, which is not stable enough, which also triggered a hot debate in the domestic media. The grouping of the draw was finalized, making the matchup between the two sides a reality.
The second round meeting between China and Vietnam will be held on February 1 next year, the first day of the Lunar New Year. By then, the 12-team tournament will have reached the eighth round and entered the sprint stage. Playing such a high-profile match on the New Year will be both a pressure and a motivation for our team players.
Our fans have fond memories of the Omani team, which beat them 1:0 in the final stage of the 2002 World Cup qualifying tournament to advance out of the tournament. This year's Top 12, our team's last game is exactly on March 29 next year against Oman. Hopefully, the story of that year will repeat itself.
Home-and-away system: the need for contingency planning
The new crown epidemic has added more variables to the tournament. AFC general secretary Windsor John said the 12-team tournament must be held on a FIFA-designated international match day, so it cannot be implemented in a tournament system and will instead be a home-and-away system. If a team is unable to host a home game, it will have to find a neutral venue to host it.
Previously scheduled to be held in Suzhou, 40 strong match, due to the participating troops can not meet the requirements of China's epidemic prevention and control can not enter the country, was forced to change in the United Arab Emirates Sharjah held. Domestic epidemic prevention and control safety is the top priority, and the home advantage of the 12 strong match is also extremely critical for our team. How to coordinate all parties to avoid similar situations in the 40 strong match again, to ensure that the national team home games can be held safely and smoothly, is a major challenge faced by China's football federation at present. At the same time, China's Football Association should also do a good job of contingency planning, in advance to prepare a feasible neutral venue.
After the away game, the national football team, such as returning to their home countries need to be isolated. 5 away games during the isolation, how to ensure that the players game state and physical and mental health is a major problem faced by China's Football Association. The long term isolation of the national footballers will definitely affect the normal progress of the Chinese Super League. Chen Xuyuan, the chairman of the Chinese Football Association, said that the league is an important cornerstone of China's soccer, and the league cannot be sacrificed because of the national team. Now that the national team's schedule has been confirmed, how to come up with a league operation plan that satisfies all parties as soon as possible will also test the wisdom of the league managers.
Difficulties are predictable, and how a team faces them determines its success or failure. When forced to go to Sharjah to play, Li Tie, the head coach of our team, said that "all organizations are the best organizations". In Sharjah, our team under his command showed a good spirit, so that the people of the country for the first time.
After the draw was finalized, Li Tie once again wrote on social media, "All organizations are the best organizations! The only way is to be united and do our best."
If Li Tie and his men can do it again, the historic opportunity to qualify for the World Cup will be in our team's own hands.
