At 8:30 pm Beijing time on November 16th, the second stage group stage (round of 36) of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the first round of Group C of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers kicked off in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Chinese men's football team, who played away, defeated the Thai men's football team 2-1 with a goal behind.
In this game, Chinese coach Yankovic deployed a 442 attacking formation and started all three attacking players, Wu Lei, Wei Shihao, and Tan Long. After the start, the Chinese national football team changed their previous slow paced style and took the initiative in attacking.
For the Chinese team who wants to advance to the next stage of the competition, this is an unbeatable game. The Thai team, on the other hand, hopes to have a good start with home advantage.
At the beginning, the Thai team actively fought for it. In the 5th minute, Thai forward Supa took his first shot of the game with a low shot, which was saved by goalkeeper Yan Junling.
In the 20th minute of the game, Tan Long and Wu Lei of the Chinese team cooperated harmoniously. After receiving the ball, Wu Lei attempted to score, but was deflected away by the opposing goalkeeper at a critical moment with his fingertips.
Shortly thereafter, Thai team number 6 Salachi took advantage of China's second wave defensive oversight and volleyed from the side, taking the lead in scoring.
Six minutes later, a backcourt out of bounds ball from the Thai team was scored by Salachi, who made a mistake with his foot. He was countered by Wei Shihao and rushed into the penalty area, providing a cross and an assist. Wu Lei made a pass in front of the goal and scored the ball, equalizing the score for the Chinese team.
Shortly after the start of the second half, it started to rain heavily on the field. After 75 minutes of the game, the Chinese team took advantage of the Thailand team's substitution gap. On the 10th, Xie Pengfei successfully intercepted the ball and passed it to the back with his right foot. On the 6th, Wang Shangyuan bent down in front of the goal and jumped the ball into the empty goal, and the Chinese team overtook the score.
In the last 15 minutes and stoppage time, the Chinese team defended tightly, blocking multiple attacks organized by the Thai team, and ultimately won the game 2-1.
The next game of the Chinese national football team will return to their home ground and face the South Korean team on November 21st.
The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with an expansion of 48 teams participating. There are a total of 8.5 spots in the Asian region, which is a great opportunity for China's men's football team to enter the World Cup again after 2002.
