Indonesia, formerly the lowest ranked team in the world, handed traditional Asian rivals Saudi Arabia an unexpected Waterloo, suffering a 0-2 defeat.
Similarly, Australia surprisingly shook hands with a 2-2 draw against bottom-ranked Bahrain in an unexpected draw that was sobering to watch.
Against this backdrop, the national soccer team captured a ray of hope in the face of adversity, not only did not allow Saudi Arabia and Australia to pull away from the difference in points, but instead, they tightened their grip on their rivals, and unexpectedly gained a key assist.
Despite the defeat in the tournament, the national soccer team is far from being in a desperate situation. The upcoming 7th round of the tournament next year will be the perfect opportunity for the national soccer team to grab points.
Why the assertion?
The Saudi Arabia team has internal and external difficulties, the competition in the domestic league is fierce, and many players lack the opportunity to play in real games. In addition, the team has recently changed coaches, the preparation time is tight, the team integration seems to be unsatisfactory.
The national football team, on the other hand, was given a well-deserved rest, but the FA missed two important moments of support.
On the one hand, the Football Association has promised to adjust the start time of next season's Chinese Super League to coincide with the 7th round of the 18-team tournament to ensure that the national football team has sufficient time to prepare for the match. On the other hand, the naturalization of players has also made substantial progress, Brazilian player Sergio to join the possibility is very high, the former Cangzhou Lions foreign aid Oscar's naturalization of the road has become smoother.
It is conceivable that if the two powerful foreign aiders are successfully introduced before March next year, the national football team will be like a tiger with wings, and the possibility of grabbing points on the road will be greatly improved.
Elsewhere in Round 7, Bahrain are away to Japan and seem to be struggling to escape defeat and could be the first team to be eliminated.
Australia have the upper hand against Indonesia and with three points, Indonesia will be reduced to the second team behind.
However, Australia's upcoming matches are also not promising, as they still have to face Japan in the second round of the competition, and the risk of defeat is still there.
Against China, the most optimistic prediction for the remaining four matches is a draw away to Saudi Arabia, all three points at home against Australia, followed by a double against Indonesia and Bahrain. This would give China a record of two wins and two draws, accumulating eight points and advancing directly to the World Cup with 14 points.
Even if there is a mishap or two, hopes of advancing to the next round are still high as long as they can get more than 10 points and finish in the top four.
