On November 13, 2019, Chinese male football players conduct pre-match training in Dubai, UAE. One day later, they lost to the Syrian team 1-2, casting a shadow on the team’s prospects for qualifying in the Asian Top 40 World Preliminaries. Since then, the top 40 games have been suspended due to the epidemic.
Affected by the epidemic, the schedule for the remaining top 40 matches of the 2022 World Cup Asian Qualifiers in Qatar has been changed. Recently, it has been reported that the remaining matches will be played in Qatar using a tournament system from May 31 to May 31. June 15th. If this news is true, it means that the Chinese men’s national team will lose 3 home court advantages. In this regard, the Chinese Football Association and the national football coaching staff have been mentally prepared.
The Chinese Football Association has a plan
Previously, the AFC planned to complete the remaining games of the top 40 in March and June this year, and the top 12 games will start in September. However, there are indications that the possibility of two rounds of the top 40 matches in March is declining, and the possibility that all the remaining four rounds will be concentrated in the FIFA national team competition cycle in June in the form of a tournament system is increasing. .
For the possible changes in the top 40 schedule, the Chinese Football Association and the national football coaching staff are mentally prepared. In the Chinese Football 2021 calendar, which was released on December 30 last year, the national football team’s preparation period has 6 time periods: the first training camp was in mid-to-late January; the second training camp was from April 15 to 21; the third training camp The time span is from May 20th to June 15th, and the time span is as long as 26 days. Obviously, it is to reserve time for preparation and competition for the top 40. In addition, according to the plan of the competition calendar, the other three preparation periods for the national football team are from September 1 to September 7, October 4 to October 12, and November 6 to November 14, all of which are FIFA. Match day. If the national football team can successfully pass the top 40 games by then, they will fully prepare for the top 12 games in these three time periods.
In addition to reserving time for the top 40 games, the Chinese Football Association has also been actively communicating with the AFC, hoping to retain the home court advantage as much as possible. According to the Chinese Football Association’s vision, if each group of the top 40 matches can be played independently in a conference system, then the Chinese Football Association will make every effort to bid to host the Chinese men’s football team. However, as the possibility of Qatar hosting the game increases, the possibility of China hosting the group match of the national football team is also diminishing.
There are pros and cons to changes in the competition system
From the original 3 home games to a 16-day 4 game in a neutral country, the current situation of the Chinese men’s team is not optimistic. It can be described as mixed. According to the previous schedule, in the remaining four rounds, the national football team had only one away game against Guam, and the remaining games against the Maldives, the Philippines and Syria were all at home. But if the AFC finally adopts Qatar’s plan to host all the remaining matches, the Chinese men’s football team will lose this huge home court advantage. The home court has become a neutral ground, and the pressure on the national football team that has not played in an official game after the coaching change can be imagined.
However, for many international footballers, they have experienced the two-stage competition of the Chinese Super League last season and the AFC Champions League. They are already familiar with this form of concentrated play for a long time. In particular, the internationals representing the four teams in the AFC Champions League have also adapted to the situation in Qatar in advance. Compared with rivals like Syria, the Philippines and Guam, the national football team may be able to adapt to the game system and venue faster.
In addition, if the top 40 match is to be held in Qatar in June, there will be more time for Chinese men’s football coach Li Tie to inspect the naturalized players. How to make Alan, Fernando and Exxon form a more lethal combination on the front line will be the key to whether the national football team can get the top 12 places.
Editor: Tian Ke
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