In the first round of the group stage of the Asian Cup, the national football team was pinned on high hopes, after all, the opponent was ranked relatively low, there was a gap in strength, and the national football team was still sure to win, and if you want to advance to the knockout round, the 3 points against the Tajikistan team cannot be lost, but the result backfired, and the national football team only got 1 point, disrupting the previous plan to get points. Judging from the process of the game, the national football scene is passive, and it is good to be able to get 1 point, but it is a pity that the goal of the national football team in the 80th minute of the second half was blown, after all, the opponent has shown a decline at that time, and the goal at that point in time is likely to mean a stunner.
Therefore, the results of the first round of the game were mixed, but the qualifying situation has become more severe, due to the lack of 3 points, although the national football team ranks 2nd, but it may be surpassed at any time, and the strength of the comparison, Qatar has an absolute advantage, and is the host, basically locked the first place in the group, the national football team can only impact the second place, once transferred to the third place, it depends on the comparison of the results of each group, which is more difficult. Therefore, if the national football team wants to qualify, it basically has to complete the goal of 1 win and 1 draw, and there is almost no possibility of winning against Qatar in the final round, so the national football team must strive to win in the second round to ensure the group qualification.
According to the schedule, the national football team will face Lebanon in the second round, which is ranked 107th in the world and 20th in Asia, only 1 place lower than Tajikistan, and this game is a veritable first life-and-death battle in 2024, for both sides, if Lebanon loses again, it will suffer 2 consecutive defeats, and there is basically no hope of qualifying.
The same is true for the national football team, winning is equivalent to basically advancing to the round of 16, if you lose, you will basically go home in advance, and a draw will not mean much to both sides, so there is no way out for the national football team, and winning is the only choice. From the first round of performance, the performance of the national football team in the second half was more prominent, on the one hand, the opponent's physical fitness has decreased, and the defensive intensity has weakened, on the other hand, Xu Xin's appearance has revitalized the midfield and helped the team get more threatening attacks.
Jankovic also has to summarize after the game, and Xu Xin's performance may make him return to the starting line-up, on the contrary, Li Yuanyi's performance in the back position is average, and he seems a little tight, and the pressure of the second game is even greater, and the coaching staff needs to let more experienced and powerful players play. In addition, Zhang Yuning's state has also rebounded, and the outside world is also looking forward to his performance at the same time as Wu Lei, after all, the two are old partners, and compared with Tan Long, Zhang Yuning is younger and has a stronger impact, and it is not ruled out that he will return to the starter. In the first round of the game, CCTV5 broadcast the game live, not surprisingly, the second round of the game at 7:30 p.m. on January 17 will continue to be like this, but under the gaze of domestic fans, the national football team needs to hand over a satisfactory answer.