The 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Asian Round of 18 ended in 3 rounds, for the Chinese men's football team, the first three rounds faced the three strongest opponents in the group, Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia, the national football team suffered three consecutive defeats is expected, in fact, these three defeats are completely acceptable, because in the last World Preliminary Tournament, the national football team was in the same group as Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia, when the national football team only achieved 2 draws and 4 losses in 6 games, and a win is hard to find. At least the national football team was reversed after scoring the first goal in this World Preliminary Tournament, which is an improvement in comparison.
The real round of 18 match of the Chinese men's football team is the life-and-death duel against Indonesia on October 15, Beijing time, and for the Chinese men's football team, the victory in this game is enough to reverse the decline caused by the previous three consecutive defeats. In the latest world rankings released by FIFA, the Chinese men's football team ranks 91st, and Indonesia ranks 129th in the world, and the national football team's ranking far exceeds that of the Indonesian team. Therefore, there is no need to deny yourself, but to regain confidence and start the round of 18 in the fourth round with the belief that you will win.
In the latest standings of Group C, Japan won all three games and ranked first in the group with 9 points. The three teams ranked second and fourth are all 4 points, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are all one win, one draw and one loss, Indonesia is all three draws, 3 points ranked 5th in the group, the Chinese men's football ranks at the bottom of the group, but in fact, the gap between the national football team and the second place in the group is only 4 points, and the points gap has not been opened, so as long as the national football team beats Indonesia in this round, it will be able to win the first win in the round of 18 and narrow the gap with the second place to 1 point.
In the third round, the match between Bahrain and Indonesia was full of drama, Bahrain scored a goal at home until the final moment of injury time, so that Indonesia's points changed from 5 to 3, which is great news for the national football team. laid the groundwork for the national football team's counterattack and let the Chinese men's football team see hope, which may be God helping the Chinese men's football team.
The Chinese men's football team's last home game was against the Saudi Arabian team, the national football team used a corner kick to score the first goal, and then the Saudi team was sent off, but the Chinese men's football team did not seize the opportunity, was reversed by Saudi Arabia, and missed a great opportunity to grab points. In the last round, the Chinese men's football team once again scored the first goal, leading Australia, but then the national football team was reversed by Australia scoring three goals in a row. These two games show that Ivankovic's tactical arrangements for the opening of the national football team are very appropriate, but after taking the lead, he becomes unable to play, and Ivankovic's adjustment time is not timely, so in the face of Indonesia, the national football team will fully learn the lessons of these two games and make full preparations.
Judging from the head-to-head record of the national football team against Indonesia, in 13 encounters, the national football team has achieved 9 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss, occupying an overwhelming advantage. In the last 5 meetings, the national football team has an unbeaten record of 4 wins and 1 draw in the face of Indonesia, including 5-0 and 5-1 victories, and the national football team has not lost to Indonesia for 67 years, which is the longest unbeaten record of the Chinese men's football team against Asian teams.
The battle between China and India, the good news for the national football team is that the main strikers Wu Lei and Alan may make a comeback. Wu Lei and Alan did not travel with the team to Australia because of injuries in the Chinese Super League, after recuperation, Wu Lei and Alan are expected to return at home, which has improved the offensive ability of the Chinese men's football team, Wu Lei is the current top scorer of the national football team, in the round of 36, Wu Lei scored 5 goals, with Wu Lei on the field, can suppress Indonesia's attack, so the national football team hopes to usher in the first victory of the round of 18, and the promotion situation of the national football team will also change.