The drums are beating for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifying Tournament, and 36 soccer teams are ready to go. Our soccer team will face two tough matches against Thailand and South Korea in the golden month of November. The recent poor performance of the national team in these two matches to fight for a draw are difficult. If we lose these two matches, it is likely that we will not even be able to touch the threshold of the 18-team tournament. It is worth mentioning that the number of places in the Asian zone of the World Cup has been expanded to 8.5. If we can't even reach the top eight, not only is the future of this tournament worrisome, but in the future, under the plight of the talent shortage, the road to progress will also be extremely difficult.
Today, the only easy way to advance is to bid to host the World Cup. However, the rights to host the 2026 and 2030 tournaments have long been settled, and Asia has no chance of hosting.After the announcement of the 2030 World Cup venue, FIFA quickly started the bidding process for the 2034 World Cup, leaving a one-month application period for all countries to apply. Now that the application period has come and gone, only the Saudi Football Association has submitted an application and won the support of many national football associations.
Among the AFC member associations, the Australian Football Association (AFA) has made it clear that it will support Saudi Arabia, with the exception of Australia and the Chinese Football Association (CFA). On the last day of the application period, the Australian Football Association announced that it was abandoning its bid, which was expected to be the representative of Oceania and even have a chance to compete with Saudi Arabia. However, in the midst of much support, Australia finally chose to give up, the big picture. At present, the Chinese Football Association has not yet taken a position, neither explicitly support, nor announced abandonment, FIFA and AFC does not seem to be concerned about this.
Other Asian member associations have expressed their willingness to host the tournament, but only our football association has remained silent, which makes fans feel confused. We may not hesitate to support Saudi Arabia, or bravely apply for the bid to compete with Saudi Arabia, even if the chances of winning are slim, but at least there will be no regrets. However, how can the fans understand the silence now? Is it sluggishness, weakness, or disdain and anger?
After Saudi Arabia's official bid for the 2034 World Cup, Japan announced that it would support Saudi Arabia while also bidding for the 2050 World Cup. If the 2050 bid fails, we will have to wait until 2062. I believe that by then, there will be little enthusiasm left among the fans. Of course, if we fail to host the World Cup, the likelihood of the national soccer team making it to the World Cup on merit alone is slim.
