In the final match of Group A on January 22, the Chinese team continued to disappoint when they lost 0-1 to host Qatar. This result left China with only 2 points after 3 matches and ranked 3rd in Group A after Qatar (9 points) and Tajikistan (4 points). Accordingly, coach Aleksandar Jankovic's team will have to wait for the remaining 5 groups to end in hopes of being among the 4 third-placed teams with the best results in the round of 16.
China faces the risk of being eliminated
China's failure opens up great hope for the two Southeast Asian football representatives, Thailand (Group F) and Indonesia (Group D), to win tickets to the next round.
Currently, Indonesia has 3 points (goal difference -1) after 2 matches and will play Japan (3 points) in the final round of Group D on January 24. If they win, coach Shin Tae-yong's team will definitely win the ticket to the next round with the second place in the group after Iraq (6 points). However, with the defeat of the Chinese team, if Indonesia loses or draws with Japan, there is still a good chance of reaching the round of 16.
Indonesia (left) has high hopes of reaching the round of 16.
At this point, Indonesia is ranked 3rd in the ranking of the best 3rd-placed teams, behind Bahrain (Group E) in terms of goal difference. Following them are China (2 points, having finished the group stage), Oman (Group F), Syria (Group B) and Palestine (Group C) - all teams have 1 point but still have 1 match left to play).
Meanwhile, Thailand is currently second in Group F with 4 points (+2 goal difference). However, the "War Elephants" will have to face the top team Saudi Arabia (6 points, already qualified) in the final round on January 25, so second place in the group is not yet guaranteed.
Thailand (left) has a great chance to continue
Accordingly, if they do not lose in the final round, coach Masatada Ishii's team will certainly win a ticket to the round of 16 as the first or second team in Group F. In case of losing to Saudi Arabia, Thailand can still keep the second place in the group if Oman (1 point, goal difference -1) does not beat Kyrgyzstan (the team that has been eliminated) in the final round of Group F. However, if Oman defeats Kyrgyzstan, Thailand can finish the group stage in 3rd place if they lose to Saudi Arabia. However, they are still likely to continue as one of the 4 third-placed teams with the best results.
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