In the early morning of January 12, the men's Asian Cup kicked off, and the host Qatar team beat Lebanon 3-0 in the first game and got off to a good start. This is undoubtedly good news for the Chinese national football team in the same group as Qatar.
Because Lebanon's performance in this campaign was so bad, it was beaten by the host from beginning to end, and it did not have the strength to compete with Qatar at all. This also allowed the national football team to actively prepare for the last match against Lebanon in the same group.
In this Asian Cup, the national football team was divided into Group A, and the group members also included Qatar, Tajikistan and Lebanon. Among them, Qatar is the defending champion, Tajikistan is the new team making its Asian Cup debut, and Lebanon is weaker.
Looking at the group schedule, the national football team will face Tajikistan in the first game, the old rival Qatar in the second game, and Lebanon in the last game. Therefore, the score of the opening match Qatar vs Lebanon is very important to the national football team, and it is directly related to the difficulty of qualifying.
Qatar won their first game with a 3-0 win over Lebanon
According to statistics, in the latest world rankings released by the AFC, Qatar ranks 58th, while Lebanon ranks far behind, at 107th. There is a big difference in the strength of the two teams.
In the first game, Qatar completely suppressed Lebanon's attack with the advantage of home and the physical and technical advantages of the players. In the first half, Qatari striker Afif scored a goal; In the second half, relying on Ali's header and Afif's brace, he finally beat Lebanon 3:0 and got off to a good start.
This game fully exposed the shortcomings of the Lebanese team in the Asian Cup. In the whole game, they only had one shot on goal, and they were completely inferior in the transmission and control organization. Qatar, on the other hand, suppressed the whole court with a 68% advantage of the ball and completely controlled the game.
Therefore, Qatar's victory by a big score is not unexpected. Moreover, with the aura of the defending champions, they have the strength to go to the next level in this Asian Cup, alongside Japan and South Korea.
Lebanon suffered a 0:3 defeat, and the national football team greatly increased its chances of qualifying
In the group stage of the Asian Cup, the top two teams in each group and the two third-place teams with the best results advance to the round of 16. It will certainly be difficult for the national football team to compete with Qatar for the top spot in the group, but it is enough to fight for second place.
And Lebanon's 0:3 defeat undoubtedly increased the chances of the national football team qualifying. Because they have completely exposed the fact of their lack of strength in the showdown with Qatar. This reduced the pressure on the national football team against Lebanon a lot.
According to the group stage, the last game of the national football team is against Lebanon. Lebanon, on the other hand, suffered a heavy psychological and physical defeat in the first game, and it was difficult to bounce back. Therefore, the possibility of the national football team taking all three points has greatly increased.
Of course, in order to qualify, the national football team still needs to beat Tajikistan in the first game. Because Tajikistan's strength is also higher than that of Lebanon, once the first game is lost, the national football team will face the danger of being eliminated.
So, the first battle is crucial. Only by successfully defeating Tajikistan can the national football team Sit tight, clamp the second place in the group, and lock up the place in the round of 16 in advance.
Watching the first game of Kali, the national football team has prepared for the game
According to reports, national football coach Jankovic led other members of the coaching staff to the scene to watch the Qatar vs Lebanon match. Qatar and Lebanon are both opponents in the same group as the national football team, and the on-site observation can help to further understand the style of the two teams.
In fact, this approach of the national football team also reflects the importance they attach to the Asian Cup and have done enough preparations. This will more or less have a positive impact on the first game of the national football team.
It is worth noting that the national football team has not lost the first game of the Asian Cup for 20 years. In 2004, they drew 2-2 with hosts Bahrain and have won every opening game since then. This has also become a law for the national football team to play in the Asian Cup.
Of course, the outcome of a football match cannot be predicted. But with the glorious tradition of being unbeaten in the first game in the past, coupled with the debut of the opponent Tajikistan, the national football team is more likely to win.
In this Asian Cup, the goal of the national football team is to advance to the top 8. To achieve this goal, the first priority is to successfully qualify for the group stage. And Qatar's first big victory just paved the way for the national football team to qualify.
I believe that under the leadership of Jankovic, this national football team will be able to win the first game and gradually get closer to its goal. Let's wait and see the moment of victory for the Chinese fans!