"There are not many Asian weak teams left for the national football team!" This once joke has now become a reality: there are really not many Asian weak teams left for the national football team! In the Paris Olympics, four qualifying teams stood out, the pattern of Asian football has changed dramatically, and the national football team has a long way to go.
A number of traditional powerhouses have missed the Olympics
With Uzbekistan's 2-0 victory over Indonesia and Japan's 2-0 victory over Iraq in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup, the Olympic qualification quota is also basically clear: Uzbekistan and Japan advance to the Asian Cup final and lock in two Olympic qualification places! The last direct quota will be produced between Iraq and Indonesia, with the third place going straight to Paris, and the third place will need to fight for Olympic qualification through the intercontinental play-offs.
Iran missed the round of 16 of the Asian Cup; Australia was eliminated in the group stage and missed the quarterfinals; the national football team also missed the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup, and was eliminated from the group of the Asian Cup for five consecutive years; Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup, all of which were eliminated in the quarterfinals, and the Asian football map has undergone visible changes. At a time when football in East Asia and West Asia is slowly stagnating, football in Southeast Asia and Central Asia is sprung up, and the Chinese men's football team is really difficult.
The three major armies have sprung up, and the football landscape has changed dramatically
In this year's U23 Asian Cup, the top eight teams are: Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Qatar! Among them, Vietnam has advanced to the quarterfinals for two consecutive Asian Cups; Indonesia has made history by advancing to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup for the first time in its history, and at the same time, it has made history by eliminating its opponents on penalties against South Korea and advancing to the semifinals; and Uzbekistan has also made great progress, marching all the way to the final to win the championship.
The development of Southeast Asian football is really too fast! The naturalization of Vietnam and Indonesia deserves deep reflection on Chinese football! They are not greedy for merit, naturalization, starting from the U23 or even lower age level, and the results are very good! On the other hand, the national football team is naturalized by veterans over 30 years old, and their eagerness to achieve success is counterproductive, and nothing is a chicken feather.
Uzbekistan is winning the future! In this U23 Asian Cup, Uzbekistan's entire team ranks first in Asia in terms of value! The results will not lie, Uzbekistan won all three games in the group stage and scored 10 goals, ranking first in goal difference; entering the knockout round, Uzbekistan eliminated Saudi Arabia and Indonesia with two neat 2-0 respectively, and kept clean sheets in five consecutive games.
Although they missed the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup, the third place of the Chinese team and the other two groups was 1 win, 2 losses and 3 points, but they ranked the highest because of the small number of goals conceded, and finally ranked ninth. Although the Chinese team failed to enter the quarterfinals, this is already the highest ranking of the Chinese team since it participated in the U23 Asian Cup five times (including the previous U22 Asian Championship and the U23 Asian Championship). In the next U23 Asian Cup, the Chinese team may become the first team in the qualifiers, and if it enters the final stage, it will at least be the third team, and may even become the second team.
Our national football team is also working hard and slowly improving, but when we trot, other national teams have already been running wildly on the track, constantly surpassing and approaching the finish line! The Asian ranking of the Chinese men's football team has fallen again and again, and now looking at the results of the U23 and below national brands, it belongs to the real trough and cold winter of the Chinese men's football team, and it seems that it has not really arrived. It is not only the national football team that is under great pressure, but the former first-class Asian teams will eventually be surpassed if they do not try to change.