There are only a few days left before the national football team assembles in Shanghai!It can be seen that the Chinese men's football team also attaches great importance to the upcoming Asian Cup!The three major international players Zhang Yuning, Dai Weijun, and Lin Liangming have already gone to Shanghai to practice in advance!
The Asian Cup is the largest football tournament organized by the AFC. It is also divided into two stages: the preliminary round and the final round. The Asian Cup is normally held every four years. Originally, this Asian Cup was held last year, but due to the epidemic and the refusal of the Chinese Football Association to host it, Qatar took over the hosting. The Chinese men's football team did not participate in the Asian Cup qualifiers as the host. After the change of venue, the Chinese men's football team, as the second team, conducted a draw. The draw results were released, and the Chinese men's football team was placed in Group A with the host Qatar men's football team, Tajikistan men's football team and Lebanese men's football team.
According to the rules of the competition, a total of 24 teams participated in the Asian Cup finals. They were divided into 6 groups. The top two teams from each group and the four best third-place finishers from each group, a total of 16 teams, will qualify for the knockout rounds. According to the strength ranking of each team and the host, it is divided into four grades. Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and hosts Qatar are seeded in each group.
In Group A, where China is located, the Qatar men's football team is the seeded team. The Chinese men's football team is in the second pot, the Lebanese men's football team is in the third pot, and the Tajikistan men's football team is in the fourth pot. The Qatari men's football team, as the host, is also the highest-ranked in this group, and they have normally locked up the qualification for the group in advance. In addition, the Lebanese men's football team has grown very fast in recent years!The ranking of the Chinese men's football team is gradually getting closer. In the last World Preliminary Tournament, the Lebanese men's football team also advanced to the top 12 of the Asian qualifiers. The Tajikistan men's football team is the weakest in this group!They are ranked outside the top 100 in the world, and they don't have any highlights in their history, and most importantly, they are last in the bracket, which means they are the belly of the group!
According to the rules of the top two in the group and the third place in the group with the four best results, if the Chinese men's football team wants to advance, it only needs to get two wins in the group stage to basically be able to advance, or get one win and one draw, and there is also a high probability of qualifying. Because the Qatari men's football team and the Lebanese men's football team are not bad. The Chinese men's football team must win the Tajikistan men's football team, and then fight the Qatar men's football team or the Lebanese men's football team.
At 22:30 on January 13, the opening opponent of the Chinese men's football team was the Tajikistan men's football team. Therefore, the first game of the Chinese men's football team is a battle of life and death. Facing the weakest opponent in this group, if you lose, you will basically be out of the tournament early. Because the weakest opponents can't win it, the stronger Qatar men's football team and the Lebanese men's football team can't win!If you can't win, you can only go home!Such a crucial game, CCTV5 will broadcast live. Whether the Chinese men's football team can get off to a good start, let's wait and see!