Soul snatching at the beginning! The national football team defeated Thailand's "against the sky" to advance, and dreamed of returning to the 2002 World Cup
June 6 is undoubtedly the most important day in the history of Chinese football. In the 5th round of the Asian 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Finals, the Chinese men's football team will face the Thai men's football team at home. This crucial battle of "life and death" determines the fate of whether the national football team can advance to the World Cup finals again.
The Chinese men's football team under Ivankovic won 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in the first 4 rounds of the group stage, and temporarily ranked second in Group C with 7 points, 3 points behind South Korea. If the national football team can defeat the Thai men's football team at home, it can not only advance to the round of 16 of the world preliminary round in advance, but also hope to take the initiative in the final round of the group stage, strive to overtake South Korea and regain the top spot in the group. But on the other hand, once the national football team loses to Thailand at home, I am afraid that it will be eliminated from the tournament one round in advance. Therefore, this life-and-death battle with the Thai team can be called a key battle for the national football team on the way to the 2026 World Cup.
Can the national football team stand out in this fate-related dialogue and advance to the round of 16 of the World Preliminaries? Let's wait and see.
The main "troika" of the national football team has returned, and domestic fans are encouraged
For this key battle, the national football team is obviously fully prepared. During the temporary training camp of the national team in March, coach Ivankovic personally went to Germany and made a special trip to Munich to meet with the naturalized player Fernando, who had just recovered from injury. After nearly two months of intensive treatment and rehabilitation training, Fernando's injury has basically healed and is expected to return to the field in the national team training camp in early June.
At the same time, Wu Lei and Li Yuan, who were unable to join the national team training camp due to their busy club competition tasks, also returned to the national team squad one after another. After a short break, the three main players of the national football team were all in place this time, which undoubtedly greatly enhanced the offensive strength and lethality of the national football team.
As the "troika" of the national football team's offensive line, Wu Lei, Li Yuan and Fernando are undoubtedly the most outstanding frontcourt iron triangle of the national football team. Wu Lei was a meritorious player of the national football team in the last World Cup, and led the national football team to the top 16 in that World Cup, creating Chinese football history. As the core of the new generation of midfield organization of the national football team, Li Yuan has a flexible style of play and excellent vision, and is often the key transition point in the team's attack. As for the naturalized player Fernando, since joining the national football team, with his sassy speed and excellent frontcourt creativity, he has gradually grown into an indispensable offensive weapon for the national football team.
With these three main players in place, the overall offensive firepower of the national football team has been significantly enhanced. This has undoubtedly greatly boosted the confidence of domestic fans, and everyone is eager to hope that the Chinese team can defeat their opponents in the upcoming battle in Thailand and reach the round of 16 of the world preliminaries one round ahead of schedule.
The defense line is solid + the attack is sharp, and the national football team has the confidence to defeat Thailand
In addition to the increase in offensive firepower, the performance of the national football team on the defensive end is also satisfactory.
Since Ivankovic took charge, the overall defense of the national football team has become more and more solid, and the number of goals conceded has also dropped significantly. On the back line, Zhang Linpeng and Hao Junmin, the central defender duo, have a tacit understanding, both of them have excellent heading ability and defensive awareness, coupled with the efficient cooperation of fullbacks Tian Gang and Wu Xi, making the national football team's defense almost unbreakable.
In the goalkeeper position, Yan Junling, who is about to turn 30 years old, has grown into a first-class goalkeeper in Asia after years of hard work, and can always stand up with his excellent reflexes and saving skills at critical moments, making great contributions to the national football team.
In the midfield, the core players Ackerson and Gao Lin cooperated tacitly, one was responsible for organizing and scheduling, and the other was responsible for destruction and interception, paving the way for the frontcourt attack. In particular, Gao Lin, a midfielder, is particularly good at the defensive end, and is often able to extinguish the opponent's attack in time.
In general, the red chariot of the national football team built by Ivankovic has reached a high level both offensively and defensively. Although there have been some mistakes in the group stage before, I believe that in the face of Thailand, a weak opponent, the national football team has the strength to play its best and win this crucial battle in one fell swoop.
Fernando's return to the fire line has become the key, and he is expected to score a key goal with the characteristics of "center wizard".
As mentioned above, the troika on the offensive line of the national football team - Wu Lei, Li Yuan and Fernando - is undoubtedly the key to the victory of the national football team. But Fernando's role is the most crucial.
Although the veteran Wu Lei and the midfielder Li Yuan are equally important, the characteristics of Fernando, a naturalized player, are more in line with the needs of the national football team against Thailand this time.
Compared with Wu Lei's faster and higher-bouncing offensive forward, Fernando is more like a typical "center wizard". He is 1.88m tall and has a sturdy build, but at the same time he has excellent technical skills and super creativity in the front court. In the more confrontational Chinese Super League, Fernando can often become an important fulcrum in the team's attack with his excellent physical confrontation and accurate transmission ability.
In this crucial battle with Thailand, the team needs such a "center wizard" with big man characteristics and the ability to organize the attack. It is believed that with Fernando's outstanding performance, he is expected to score twice in this life-and-death battle and seal the victory for the national football team.
Not only that, but Fernando's ability to play on the spot at critical moments is also undoubted. Previously, in the Asian Cup and the World Preliminaries, he performed shocking reversals at critical moments many times, bringing a huge offensive impact to the national football team.
In addition, the national football team also showed obvious psychological advantages in the previous showdown with the Thai team. This team from Southeast Asia, although the overall strength is good, often falls into a sense of oppression and fear when facing the "big country" of Chinese football.
In October 2022, the national football team defeated Thailand with a score of 2-0 away from home, showing good combat effectiveness. At that time, Wu Lei and Fernando scored goals one after another, fully demonstrating the strong firepower of the national football team's offensive line. Recalling this game, domestic fans are all excited - the Chinese team has finally regained its former glory in major international competitions.
And this life-and-death battle on June 6, the national football team has undoubtedly attracted much attention. The troika of the team's forward line is fully in place, coupled with the solidity of the defensive line and the outstanding performance of goalkeeper Yan Junling, the national football team undoubtedly has the confidence to defeat Thailand. Coupled with the obvious psychological advantages in the historical matchups, I believe that the national football team will be able to reverse Thailand at home, so as to enter the round of 16 of the world preliminaries one round ahead of schedule.
A breakthrough in one fell swoop, and the national football team will make history again!
If the national football team really defeats Thailand in this crucial battle, it can not only lock in the round of 16 in advance, but also hope to overtake South Korea in the final round of the group stage and regain the top spot in the group. This will undoubtedly pave the way for the national football team to the World Cup again.
In 2002, Chinese football created a historic moment and reached the World Cup finals again after 20 years. And if the national football team can successfully advance again in the upcoming key battle, it will undoubtedly be the beginning of another brilliant year for Chinese football.
As a traditional strong team in Asia, although the Chinese men's football team has suffered repeated setbacks in international competitions in recent years, the confidence of fans has never disappeared. They have been looking forward to the national football team regaining its former glory and shining on the stage of the World Cup again.
If the national football team can finally defeat Thailand and successfully advance to the round of 16 of the World Preliminaries, it will undoubtedly add another bright color to the journey of Chinese football in 2026. At that time, fans across the country will undoubtedly be proud of the "national football team" again and cheer for the rise of this Chinese army.
This is undoubtedly an exciting prospect. Let's wait and see, I believe that in the battle of life and death on June 6, the national football team will be able to work hard to defend its dignity, so as to write a glorious chapter of Chinese football again!