China's national football team enters long-term training after ACL elimination

It looks like I can focus on the June A match after falling out.

'Zhibo.com' reported on the 15th (Korea time), "The Chinese national football team will enter a long-term training camp without any restrictions starting from May 18," adding, "Especially since all Chinese teams have been eliminated from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL), there will be no interruptions. Good results are to be expected."

The Chinese national football team, led by head coach Ivan Brankovic, suffered a 0-2 loss to Australia in the 8th match of Group C in the third qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, held on March 25 at Hangzhou Sports Park in Hangzhou, China, marking a complete defeat in the March A matches.

China remains at the bottom of the standings with 2 wins and 6 losses, totaling 6 points. Despite the enthusiastic support of 80,000 home fans, China struggled against Australia. Australia dominated the game from the early stages with possession of the ball. In the 7 matches previously played, China had victories against Indonesia at home and Bahrain in an away match, but lost all the remaining matches.

Meanwhile, after the match between Australia and China, Indonesia defeated Bahrain 1-0, maintaining its fourth place. As a result, China is in competition for the bottom position with Bahrain, remaining at the bottom due to goal difference, even though they are tied on points.

Following this crushing defeat, the Chinese national team is essentially out of the World Cup. The possibility of direct qualification has now disappeared, and with Indonesia’s victory over Bahrain, the chance of advancing to the playoffs as either 3rd or 4th has also become extremely slim. Consequently, China has chosen to ignite hope.

Right after the match, Sohu emphasized, "The real problem for the Chinese national football team is that players aren't properly participating in the league. Out of the 23 players in the Chinese national team, only 10 were selected, 10 came on as substitutes, and 3 didn’t play at all. Even the 2 players who started against Australia were both on the bench."

The media stated, "Chinese national players are struggling to secure spots in their own league. After the match against Australia, head coach Ivan Brankovic pointed out that the level of Chinese players is falling. Ultimately, a majority of the players need to be released, and rebuilding must commence."

With only 2 A matches left in June, China will play an away match against Indonesia on the 5th and a home match against Bahrain on the 10th. If they do not lose the away match against Indonesia, they may still have a chance to finish in 3rd or 4th place to advance to the playoffs, so China is going all out.

'Zhibo.com' noted, "The Chinese Football Association will mobilize all efforts to call up players after the completion of the 13th round of the Chinese Super League on May 17. Since all Chinese teams have been eliminated from the ACL, there are no restrictions," adding, "The players called up for the Chinese national team this time can focus entirely on their club team with no obstacles."

She continued, "Given this situation, the Chinese national team in June will be even stronger. Literally, the players have no choice but to do their best and show good performance," expressing satisfaction, "At least in the June A matches, the early elimination of Chinese clubs in the ACL will undoubtedly be a huge help."

[OSEN]