On January 13, 2024, the national football team will face Tajikistan, ranked 19th in Asia, in the first match of the Asian Cup in Qatar. This match is crucial for the national football team and is related to the prospects of qualifying from the group. If the national football team can overcome their opponents, then they will have the hope of advancing to the round of 16. However, once lost, the national football team will have to "fight" with Lebanon and Qatar, especially the game against the host Qatar, which is relatively more difficult. Although the Tajikistan team performed quite well in the first two world preliminary matches and improved its Asian rankings, the national football team is slightly higher than its opponent in terms of value.
However, the victory or defeat on the field is not determined by value, and the national football team needs to put in more effort and sweat. Prior to this match, the national football team was scheduled to assemble and travel to the United Arab Emirates for training in mid-December in order to adapt to the weather and climate in Qatar in advance. There will definitely be changes to the starting lineup of the national football team, and head coach Jankovic may make some changes in the formation. He used a back three formation, which allowed the two wing-backs to be more involved in the attack, but it was not particularly effective due to the limited ability of the wingers now. Therefore, Jankovic needs to make better choices in formation.
The national football team must improve its overall strength, especially in attack and defense, to be more stable and efficient. This requires the players to continuously improve their skills and qualities in their usual training and games, and more importantly, they need to unite and gather strength in order to play their best in the game. The national football team needs to go all out in the game and strive for a "good start". However, if we want to go further in this Asian Cup, the national football team needs more efforts and struggles, facing difficulties and moving forward bravely.
I believe in the strength and fighting spirit of the national football team, and look forward to them creating brilliance on this stage and winning glory for Chinese football.