The dust of the Asian qualifiers was settled. The Chinese men's football team was unbeaten in three rounds, with 7 points and a goal difference of +11, becoming the second in the group with the best results in the 11 Asian qualifiers, and joined hands with Australia to advance to the U23 Asian Cup finals! The group draw ceremony of the U23 Asian Cup will be held on October 2. So what is the prospect of the Chinese men's football team draw? In addition to the multiple death groups that are likely to be killed, is there any sign-up? Next, let’s analyze in detail!

Detailed explanation of the rules for drawing lots

According to the relevant regulations of the AFC, the grouping of the U23 Asian Cup and the grouping of the U20 and U17 Asian Cups adopt the same rules, that is, the results of the past three events are based on the classification. The results of the three events are converted into technical points and the final results of the participating teams are summarized, and the ranking is based on this.

The Chinese men's football team has not appeared on the World Championships for 20 years (including the World Cup, World Youth Championship, and World Youth Championship). Teams of the two age groups, 2003-2004 and 2005-2006, have successively reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Youth Championship. The tactical systems of the National Youth Team in the 2003-2004 age group and the National Youth Team in the 2005-2006 age group are quite different, especially in the midfield sorting, which will more of the latter will organize attacks through the midfield. For this U22 national team, there is a lot to learn from!

The Chinese national football team has become the fourth team, and there is a reason for this! In the fourth event held in Thailand in 2020, the Chinese team ranked low. In addition, the 2024 Doha 6th U23 Asian Cup and Paris Olympic Men's Football Asian Qualifiers, the national football team ranked 10th among 16 participating teams and qualified for the qualifiers. Unfortunately, due to special reasons, the qualifiers had to announce their withdrawal before the qualifiers began, and there was no result!

So after the Chinese national football team advanced to the top 16 of the U23 Asian Cup, if they want to become the third-tier team, they can only pray that there are more teams with lower cumulative rankings than the Chinese national football team to enter the finals. 15 non-host teams who were finalized in the Asian Cup round of 16:

The first team in the group is: Jordan, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Iraq, Qatar, Iran, South Korea, Syria

The second team in the group with the best results: China, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates

After the results of the three competitions were converted into technical points, Uzbekistan, who qualified the second in the group, became the first team, and although Syria qualified the top spot in the group, it eventually became the fourth team! For the national football team, it is a "good thing" to miss the promotion of Tajikistan and Indonesia. If the team that participated in the last competition advanced, the ranking of the national football team is higher than that of the national football team, but in the end, the national football team is still the fourth team. The elimination of the two teams has slightly improved the ranking of the Chinese team among the 16 participating teams, but they can still rank 13th.

Detailed explanation of the top 16 of the U23 Asian Cup

At this point, with the host Saudi Arabia automatically landing in the first-tier team with a seed player, the Asian Cup top 16 has also been officially released:

The fourth teams are: China, Syria, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon;

The third teams are: Thailand, Jordan, UAE, and Iran;

The second teams are: South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, and Qatar;

The first teams are: Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Japan, and Iraq!

The overall strength of U23-level teams is positively correlated with the real level of the national first-team team, but there is no absolute connection. Therefore, although the Chinese men's football team FIFA's latest world ranking is 94 and Asia is only 14, this year's Chinese U23 men's football team has the power to fight. Among the 16 teams that have entered the U23 Asian Cup, the Chinese U23 team is only 13th, so they have to fall into the fourth level. The Chinese football team fell into the fourth level due to special reasons, which has indeed cast a shadow on the national football team's draw to avoid the death group and hit the quarterfinals! So what kind of sign is the "high sign"? For the fourth-tier team, any of the top three teams can pose a threat to the Chinese U23 team:

Saudi, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Australia have proven to be the absolute powerhouse of the same age group after many games. With the first team, Saudi Arabia has a strength online and has a home advantage. So overall, for the Chinese national football team, there is no big difference between whom it draws. In terms of player value, Uzbekistan is unique in strength. Husanov, who plays for Manchester City, is worth 35 million euros, and has as many as 4 players worth over 5 million euros. There are only a handful of players with a value of less than 500,000 euros, so it is naturally the opponent that the Chinese national football team is least willing to draw;

As the host, Saudi Arabia has many factors such as home penalty, and naturally it is an opponent that the national football team is unwilling to draw. Qatar won the championship as he wished when he held the Asian Cup. Saudi Arabia held the U23 Asian Cup this time, and it is also a high probability that qualifying in the group is also an event; players at all levels of the Japanese men's football team are very outstanding, and the Japanese men's football team, who have won three consecutive victories in the group stage, is also an opponent that makes the national football team headache! Therefore, the first theoretical signing for the Chinese national football team is Iraq. The Iraqi team has only one player worth over 500,000 euros, while the Chinese national football team Wang Yudong is worth 1.5 million euros, and the starting price is worth over 4 million euros, which is a powerful battle with him!

Let's look at the second team, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, and Qatar! Australia needs no more. The Australian team is one of the strongest teams in this age group under the AFC. Because next year's U23 Asian Cup score is not related to the qualifications of the Olympics or World Youth Championship, the Australian team has not sent out the strongest lineup in this age group. Therefore, the Chinese national football team 0-0 at home is not referenceable. It is considered for complex reasons. At the Chinese national football team, Australia, which has a 70-minute attack, is also afraid of losing and being eliminated. It is expected that the two teams will not meet again in the group stage!

Who is better, Qatar or South Korea? Both teams achieved three consecutive victories in the group stage, South Korea scored 13 goals and conceded 0 goals, and Qatar scored 17 goals and conceded 2 goals, which is recognized as an absolute strong team. The second team includes Australia and South Korea! The Qataria team has no player worth more than 300,000 euros in the preliminary round! Vietnam, who has won three consecutive games in a row, scored: Bangladesh 2-0, Singapore 1-0, and Yemen 1-0! The second level is that for the Chinese national football team, Vietnam is the lottery, and it is also an acceptable ideal result!

The four third-tier teams are Thailand, Jordan, UAE and Iran! We have mentioned that the recognized absolute power team among the third team includes Iran. The UAE, which has a goal difference of +15 in the first two games, can only lose 2-3 against Iran! So, what signs are for the UAE, Thailand and Jordan? Jordan's goal difference in group stage +18, UAE's goal difference +14, and with tactical division reasons, Thailand is undoubtedly the most ideal opponent to draw for the national football team!

So if the Chinese national football team can finally draw the top lottery and be in the same group as Iraq, Vietnam and Thailand, the probability of advancing to the quarterfinals will be greatly improved! Of course, the reality is cruel. As a fourth-level team, it is almost impossible to expect the ideal opponents among the top three teams to complete the "assembly". Therefore, for the Chinese national football team, it is almost impossible to finally be in the same group as Iraq, (Vietnam, Qatar), (Thailand, Jordan, and the UAE), even if you can sign up! Once you encounter the third-tier team Iran, the prospect of Chinese men's football team qualifying will become confusing!

Of course, considering that the number of players selected for the national team in this U22 national team has reached 9, this "future national team" still has the power to fight. Even if it is deeply involved in the death group, under the leadership of Wang Yudong, our national team also has the power to fight! The basic goal of this U23 national football team in the U23 Asian Cup is to break through in the group and enter the top 8. However, judging from the division situation, it is very difficult for the team to achieve this goal.

All players of this qualifier will arrive on August 25, and there will be only seven or eight days in total. The embarrassing thing is that the national team may be concentrated in October and November. One of the real problems faced is that some players of the 2003-age or even 2005-age will be transferred to the national team again. The U20 group of the National Games will be held, and players of the 2005-age age must participate in the National Games again. The U22 national football team faces the problem of incompatibility in the preparation for the main competition. Of course, our first-team team of the national football team has proved many times that long-term training may not necessarily achieve results, so all theoretical difficulties should not sometimes become difficulties. Whether national players participate in the first-team or the National Games, they are also opportunities to keep their state improving.

Chinese football has a long way to go

According to the latest news from Beijing Youth Daily, Wang Yudong and Hu Hetao have been targeted by some clubs from Europe. "This U22 national team, coupled with Zhang Yuning, Wei Shihao, Gao Zhunyi and Patton, who are in their 1995s, isn't this the new national team team?" It can be said that yes! Wumi Tijiang, Kuai Jiwen, Li Xinxiang, Yang Haoyu and Hu Hetao will also represent their respective clubs to participate in the competition in the new season of the AFC Champions League, enter the competition stage of top Asian events, and gain experience again!

Looking back on the way, the Chinese U23 men's football team tied the Australian team with a disciplined 0-0 tie, locked the second place in the group with the best results, and successfully won the ticket to the 2026 Saudi U23 Asian Cup! Looking back on the previous history of participating, the Chinese team has only achieved a record of 2 wins and 13 losses and has never qualified in the group! Whether these young talents who have been tempered by the Chinese Super League, the China League One and even the adult national teams can bring greater surprises to fans is worth looking forward to!

We have introduced that the U22 national football team is currently composed of players of the 2003 national youth team, players who are not selected for the 2003 national youth team, and players who are not selected for the 2005 national youth team. In terms of personnel, the national football team may draw players from the U22 national team in October and November. Will it affect preparations? Head coach Antonio replied: "We still have to focus on the national team. If the national team needs it, we will send it over. The players have bright future, but we cannot be too hasty!" China's national teams at all levels have not reached the World Cup (including the World Youth Championship and the World Youth Championship) for 20 years. Do our players have the potential to strive for better opportunities in the future World Cup? Let time give us the answer.

The Chinese team has participated in the U23 Asian Cup five times in history and has never been eliminated in the qualifiers. They only missed the game in 2022 due to abstention. The best result of the Chinese team in the U23 Asian Cup is ninth place in 2024. For Antonio's team, the goal is to complete the group qualifying in the finals and strive to break through the best results.

Because at least one-third of the players have been selected into the national team, and the national football team will advance the youthful process at full speed in the new cycle of preparation, a considerable number of players in this U22 national football team will become the absolute backbone of the national football team's impact on the 2030 World Cup. To a certain extent, the prototype of the new national football team has been clearly visible in this U22 national football team. The 16 participating teams in the 2026 U23 Asian Cup, the champion teams and the Chinese teams are among the top, and Kyrgyzstan participates in the main competition for the first time.

The 7th U23 Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to 25, 2026. The Saudi organizing committee has not yet announced the specific host city and stadium. The 03-age U22 national football team will do their best to achieve good results, which can greatly improve the ranking of China's 2005-age team in Asia. Chinese football is looking forward to bottoming out and rebounding. Chinese men's football team, come on! What kind of report card can you deliver in this Asian Cup? Let's wait and see!