The draw results for the second stage of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers were announced on July 27th. The Chinese national football team is slightly pleased with the draw results, as they are in the same group as the strong South Korean team.
The Chinese national football team has expectations, they have ample opportunities to score 3 points against other teams, and they hope to achieve their goal of competing with the South Korean team for first place in the group.
The World Cup qualifiers are divided into four stages. The first stage is the qualifying stage, and in the second stage, 18 out of 36 teams advance.
In the third stage, 18 teams will be divided into 3 groups, with the top two teams from each group securing a spot in the World Cup. The other 6 eliminated teams will participate in the fourth stage of the competition to compete for the final chance.
The competition in the fourth stage is more intense. The remaining 6 teams will be divided into two groups, with the first place team from each group winning a World Cup spot, while the second place team from both groups will play a playoff to compete for the final 0.5 spots. The ultimate winner will also have to compete with teams from other continents for a World Cup spot.
Firstly, we will enter the first stage of the qualifiers, aiming to provide opportunities for teams ranked lower in Asia to advance to the main stage of the World Cup. 20 teams have qualified and will compete for 10 spots to advance to the second stage.
These 20 teams include Guam, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Maldives, East Timor, Bangladesh, Singapore, Yemen, Myanmar, Macau, Cambodia, Taipei, Brunei, Hong Kong, Bhutan, Nepal, Laos, and Sri Lanka.
Next is the second stage, where the Chinese national football team has successfully advanced and become a member of the top 36. This stage is divided into 9 groups, each consisting of 4 teams. The top two teams advance to the round of 18 and are eligible to directly advance to the 2027 Asian Cup main tournament.
Now, the Chinese national team is in the same group as the South Korean and Thai teams, while another opponent will be formed between the Singapore and Guam teams. Neither Singapore nor Guam poses a threat to the national football team.
The Chinese national football team only needs to earn enough points in the match against the Thai team, and the hope of advancing to the round of 18 is very high. At the same time, the Chinese national football team also has the opportunity to compete with the South Korean team for the top spot in the group, which is expected.
The third stage is the most important stage, as long as the Chinese national football team can reach the round of 18, it is only one step away from the main match of the World Cup.
In the third stage, 18 teams will be divided into 3 groups, with the top two teams from each group directly advancing to the World Cup final. As long as the Chinese national football team can enter the third stage, there is a complete opportunity to secure a spot in the World Cup.
Even if the Chinese national football team fails to secure a spot in the World Cup in the third stage, they still have the opportunity to strive to become one of the last six teams, enter the fourth stage, and compete for the remaining 2.5 World Cup spots in Asia.
From the current situation, the signing luck of the Chinese national football team is good. Although the South Korean team is strong, the strength of other opponents in the same group is not strong.
As long as the Chinese national football team can avoid losing points against the Thai team, entering the third stage of the World Cup qualifiers should not be a big problem. The key to the final result lies in the performance of the Chinese football players during the game.
