0-1 = out of the World Preliminary Tournament!The Chinese men's football team can't afford to lose: in the end, the fig leaf can't be lost, winning = qualifying
Chinese football has been on the decline since the 2002 South Korea-Japan World Cup, and originally had the strength to compete with Iran, Japan, South Korea and other Asian powerhouses, but as time went by, the Chinese men's football team has become farther and farther away from the Asian first-class, and has become the end of the second rate in Asia, or even the third-rate level.
Entering 2024, the Chinese men's football team will face Lebanon in the Asian Cup, and second-rate Asian teams such as Tajikistan will not score a goal and will eventually be eliminated from the group. Then in the U23 Asian Cup, the Chinese Olympic team fell into the group of death, the three opponents in the group were Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, in this case, the first round of the Chinese Olympic Games still lost 0-1 to the Japanese Olympic Games in a favorable situation of 11 to 10. Then in the Asian Futsal Tournament, the Chinese team lost to the Vietnamese team and the Thai team in a row, as Fan Zhiyi said, Chinese football has no way to lose in Asia, and the face is gone.
For the Chinese men's football team, the most important event in 2024 is the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, in the round of 36 in the Asian region, China drew lots into a good group, the three opponents in the group are South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, but it is in such a group, the Chinese men's football team's promotion prospects are still confusing, after 4 rounds, the national football team's promotion road is still full of suspense, and the slightest carelessness will be eliminated, missing the next round of 18.
Let's take a look at the journey of the national football team in this World Preliminary Tournament, the first round of the national football team challenged the Thai team away, the Thai team used the interest rate of the home field to score first, fortunately, Wu Lei broke out in time and quickly equalized the score, Wang Shangyuan completed the stunner in the second half, and finally the national football team defeated Thailand with a score of 2-1 and made a good start. But in the second round of facing the South Korean team at home, the Chinese men's football team was instantly beaten back to its original form and lost the game with a score of 0-3.
In the 3rd and 4th rounds, the Chinese men's football team played Singapore back-to-back home and away, which was originally 6 points in the national football plan, but the result was unsatisfactory, in the 3rd round of the national football team away from home was chased by Singapore with 2 goals in a row in the case of a 2-goal lead, and the 3 points that were lost in the upset became 1 point, which laid a hidden danger for qualifying. In the 4th round, the national football team returned to their home stadium and defeated Singapore with a score of 4-1.
After 4 rounds, the Chinese men's football team has 7 points, South Korea in the same group has 10 points and advanced to the group ahead of schedule, Thailand ranks 3rd in the group with 4 points, and Singapore ranks at the bottom with 1 point. The 5th round of the national football team will sit at home to face the Thai team, the game time is June 6, Beijing time, the venue is the new Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Shenyang, this game is a game that the Chinese men's football team must win, if it is a draw or a loss, it will withdraw from the world preliminaries in advance.
In the last World Preliminary Round of 12, the Chinese men's football team lost to Vietnam in disgrace on Chinese New Year's Eve, setting the most humiliating record for Chinese football. In this World Preliminary Championship, the Chinese men's football team met another Southeast Asian team, the Thai team, which has made rapid progress in recent years, and in the Asian Cup at the beginning of the year, the Thai team drew with Saudi Arabia and Oman. Thailand beat Iraq 2-0 in the ongoing U23 Asian Cup, while Thailand just beat China 1-0 in the Asian 5-year football tournament.
In the battle between China and Thailand on June 6, if the Chinese men's football team loses 0-1 to the Thai team, it will bid farewell to the 2026 World Cup in advance and prepare for the 2030 World Cup in advance. Therefore, the battle between China and Thailand is the last fig leaf for Chinese football, and only the Chinese men's football team can advance to the round of 18 by defeating the Thai team, otherwise all results will be the terminator of Chinese football.