In September, the qualifiers for the U23 Asian Cup will begin, and the Chinese men's football team will once again embark on the journey towards the goal of entering the Paris Olympics. Since the Chinese team did not participate in the last competition, in this group draw, the Chinese men's football team automatically fell into the fourth gear, which also greatly increased the probability of the Chinese team being classified into the "death group", and many fans sweated for them!
Not long ago, the first stage of the U23 Asian Cup qualifying draw results were officially released, I don't know if the AFC is deliberately "guaranteed" the Chinese team, the U23 national football team in the fourth bracket, actually rarely drew the "upper sign", we were divided into the United Arab Emirates team in Group G, the same group of opponents also included India and Maldives.
For the Chinese men's team, I don't think there is a better grouping result. Not only did we avoid the traditional Asian powerhouses Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Australia in the first pot, but we also avoided the West Asian rivals of Iran, Syria, Bahrain and Kuwait in the second pot. In Group G, where the Chinese men's team is located, the UAE team is undoubtedly better, but if the Chinese team performs well, it is also a high probability to win the opponent, and what we have to do is to avoid losing points on India and Maldives.
The Maldives team has always played the role of "accompanying the prince to study" in Asia, and it is difficult to pose a threat to the other three teams in this group, and the Chinese team should be careful of the Indian team in South Asia. As the hegemon of South Asia, although Indian football cannot make waves in the whole of Asia, if the Chinese team underestimates the enemy, it will also pay a heavy price. In the 2021 U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, India defeated Oman to draw Kyrgyzstan, showing good competitiveness, so it is still unknown whether China can win this time against India.
But to be in the fourth gear to draw such a sign, the Chinese men's football team is already very lucky. It is also worth mentioning that all matches in Group G will be played in China, and the Chinese men's football team, which has the advantage of home stadium, should not be a problem in qualifying from the group, and our real test will not come until the main match of the U23 Asian Cup. At that time, if the Chinese team wants to enter the Paris Olympics, it will have to meet the top teams in Asia, so whether the Chinese team can go further depends on their strength, not luck.
I hope this young Chinese men's football team can bring surprises to the fans.