China had a 0-0 draw with Tajikistan in the first Group A match of the tournament on the 13th. The victory was likely against Tajikistan, which reached its first-ever finals, but it was a draw beyond imagination. It was comforting to have never lost to Tajikistan since 1997.
The team was lagging behind in terms of aggressiveness, with the number of shots being 10-20 and shooting on target 2-2. Tajikistan had nothing to lose, so China was pushed back. Experienced defender Zhang Linfeng (Shanghai Haigang) took the lead in Urei (Shanghai Haigang), who played for Espanyol in the Spanish Primera Liga, but to no avail. Other striker Tanlung (Changchun Yatai) also blocked attacks.
If only the top four teams ranking third in six groups make it to the round of 16, China can advance to the round of 16. As Qatar`s host country defeated Lebanon 3 to 0, it will not be easy for China to advance to the round of 16 teams ranking first. The second round match against Lebanon on Thursday will likely serve as a watershed for China to decide the second place.
However, there seems to be no calm news. China’s “Sina Sports” reported that striker Wei Xihao (Wuhan-Shanjeon) is not expected to play in the match against Lebanon due to injury.
Wei Xihao was a promising striker when he was young, joining Boavista in Portugal’s Primera Liga, but he did not grow much. He played in the Wuhan Sanjeon last year after playing in Shanghai Haigang, Beijing Guoan and Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League.
In November last year, in the second round of the 2026 North-China-US World Cup against South Korea, Urey and Tanlung were three-top players to target defense, but they confirmed their limitations and were replaced only in the first half.
The media said, “Wai Shihao was excluded from the list for the match against Tajikistan due to his injury. He seems to have difficulty recovering until the match against Lebanon. It seems that his leg muscle injury is not recovering quickly,” predicting that it will not be easy to solve the match against Lebanon due to lack of Joker cards that will change the direction of the match.
Lebanon is good at physical fights and runs a lot like Tajikistan. Lebanon is one of the best in terms of skills. The leading European betting firm BET 365 set a dividend rate of 2.55 for China’s victory, 3.00 for a draw, and 3.10 for a loss. The dividend rate will hurt Korea’s pride in that there is not much difference.
Above all, it is known that the match will not be broadcast live on TV. Media outlets reported that the match against Lebanon is a life-or-death match, so fans are highly interested in it and they want to watch it live on TV, but it will not be easy. The broadcasting authority CCTV5 (specialized sports channel) has arranged a live broadcast of the Chinese Men’s Professional Basketball (CBA), which will take place at the same time.
Analysts say that the draw against Tajikistan is leaning toward a live broadcast of professional basketball in Shenzhen and Xinjiang, not a match against Lebanon. Basketball is more popular than soccer in China. For this reason, Chinese soccer fans will likely have to watch the match against Lebanon through a different channel. “It is a good opportunity for soccer fans to watch the match as it is a match against an opponent at the same level as the international competition for the first time in a long time since the second qualifying round of last year’s World Cup, but CCTV5 has given up the live broadcast,” the soccer fans expressed regret.
BY: 스포츠토토핫