In a showdown that caught the world's attention, Saudi Arabia lost 0-2 at home to bottom-ranked Indonesia, a shocking result that saw the traditional hegemony of Asian soccer meet an unprecedented Waterloo.
In the other match, Australia drew 2-2 with bottom-ranked Bahrain, a result that was undoubtedly doubly disappointing.
However, just as these two traditional powerhouse teams lost one after another, the national football team has found a ray of hope in adversity, not only not by Saudi Arabia and Australia to leave the distance, but also tightly, and even fortunate enough to get a key assist.
Despite the loss in the tournament, the national soccer team is clearly not in despair. The upcoming 7th round of the tournament will be a crucial moment for the national soccer team to turn things around.
According to the match list for the 7th round, the national football team will face off with the in-form Saudi Arabia, which means that the national football team is expected to get at least one point in this round, or even realize the three points gift.
What is the basis for such a claim?
The Saudi team is currently facing internal and external difficulties, with fierce competition in the domestic league, and many players lack of real-world opportunities. In addition, the Saudi team has recently changed coaches, the preparation time is tight, the team's integration situation is worrying.
Meanwhile, the national football team has been given a well-earned rest, but the Football Association has missed out on two important opportunities for support.
On the one hand, the Football Association had promised to adjust the start time in the next season's Chinese Super League in order to provide sufficient preparation time for the national football team. On the other hand, substantial progress has been made in the naturalization of players, with the possibility of Brazilian player Sergio joining the team extremely high, and even the path of naturalization of former Cangzhou Lions foreign aid player Oscar has become smoother.
Unsurprisingly, if the national soccer team can successfully introduce these two powerful foreign aiders before March next year, the team's fighting strength will be significantly improved, and the possibility of getting points on the road will also be greatly increased.
In other Round 7 matches, Bahrain are away to Japan, where they are almost expected to suffer a crushing defeat and could be the first team to be eliminated.
Australia dominate against Indonesia and are expected to take all three points, while Indonesia could be the second team to struggle.
Australia's upcoming matches are also not promising, as they still face the challenge of Japan and remain at risk of being beaten.
The most optimistic prediction for the remaining four matches compared to the national football team is an away draw against Saudi Arabia, an undefeated home match against Australia, and then a double against Indonesia and Bahrain. This would allow the national soccer team to accumulate eight points with two wins and two draws, and eventually advance directly to the World Cup with 14 points.
Even if one or two mishaps occur, as long as the national soccer team can get more than 10 points and finish in the top four, the hope of advancing to the next round is still high.
