Recently, after returning to Croatia, the head coach of the Chinese national football team, Ivanković, stated in an interview with local media that the national team still has a chance to compete for second place in the group, which is a direct qualification for the World Cup. He also emphasized that the matches against Saudi Arabia and Australia next March will be crucial, as they will determine whether the team can take the initiative in the race for second place, as Saudi Arabia and Australia are the main opponents for this position.
After six rounds, the national team is only one point behind second-placed Australia and is only separated by goal difference from Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. Therefore, there is really a chance for the national team to directly qualify for second place, depending on their performance in the last four matches.
However, South Korean media have published articles mocking the national team, telling them not to fantasize. Last month, "SPOTV NEWS" published an article titled "China Team 2 wins and 4 losses with 6 points at the bottom, but still dreaming of directly entering the World Cup."
Today, another South Korean media outlet, "OSEN," also published an article mocking the prospects of the national team's World Cup campaign.
Upon seeing a viewpoint published by Japanese media "Football Digest," which states that in the early 1990s, both Chinese and Japanese football started professionalization at the same time. At that time, the Chinese team often defeated the Japanese team, but since 2002, the gap between Chinese and Japanese football has become increasingly larger.
In response, "OSEN" claims that the assertion that Chinese and Japanese football were at a similar level in the early 1990s is absurd and baseless. At that time, the Chinese team lost every match against South Korea and was considered a weak team.
Furthermore, "OSEN" bluntly states that even if the number of World Cup slots increases, the Chinese team has no hope of participating.
Many foreign media believe that one of the main reasons FIFA expanded the World Cup to 48 teams is to make it easier for the Chinese men's football team to qualify. If they continue to fail, it is not ruled out that the number may increase to 64 teams in the future. In such a scenario, the national team should be able to steadily enter the World Cup, which would be a slap in the face to South Korean media.
However, in the face of mockery from South Korean media, current national football fans can only remain silent, as mediocrity is the original sin. Even with 8.5 slots available in the Asian region, it is difficult to compete for a spot. Unless the number increases to 14, the national team's latest Asian ranking at 13th may give them a chance.
According to the schedule, the next restart of the top 18 qualifiers will be in March next year. The national team will play away against Saudi Arabia and host Australia, with the home game confirmed to be held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center.