The national football team lost 1： 3, and the good news is …

On the evening of November 19th, Beijing time, China lost 3-1 to the Japanese team at home in the sixth round of the third stage (Top 18) of the Asian regional qualifier of the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup in Xiamen Egret Stadium, and the winning streak was ended. It is worth mentioning that this is the first time that the national football team has broken the Japanese goal in five years, and it is also the first time that the top 18 in Japan has been broken by an opponent.

Before this round of competition, the Japanese team firmly occupied the first place in the standings of Group C with a score of 4 wins, 1 draw and 13 points, while the China team, which won two consecutive victories over Indonesian team and Bahrain team, tied with Saudi team and Australian team with 2 wins, 3 losses and 6 points, ranking fourth only due to the disadvantage of goal difference. However, before this round of competition, China team was seriously injured. Players such as Lei Wu, Fernando and Gao Zhunyi missed this training session due to injuries. Li Lei who was injured in the last round and Baihe Lamu, who was suspended in total, were also unable to appear. Zhang Yuning, who was injured, was on the substitute list.

In the first round contest between the two sides in early September, the China team was defeated by the Japanese team 0-7 away. In this game, coach ivankovic used the combination of Wang Shangyuan, Xu Haoyang and Xie Wenneng to set up the defensive line in the midfield. Cao Yongjing, who made his debut for the national team in the last game, started the game as the front waist, playing the offensive line together with Lin Liangming and Wei Shihao. In the starting lineup of the Japanese team, Wataru Endo, Takumi Minamino, Kubo Jianying and other star players who have played in the five major leagues in Europe have also played in succession, while Sankun Xun is on the bench.

After the start of the game, China team tried to make up the gap between the two sides in strength with active fighting, and achieved good results. In the 9th minute, Wei Shihao missed the goal from a small angle on the right side of the penalty area, which was also the first shot of both sides in this game. At the same time, the players of the China team tried their best to slow down the pace of the game, which also effectively delayed the Japanese team’s offensive. It was not until the 24th minute that the Japanese team had the first kick of the game. On the contrary, the China team formed several good offensives through steals.

At about 35 minutes in the first half, the Japanese team suddenly accelerated the pace of attack. Kubo Kenying’s long-range shot forced Wang Dalei to make a wonderful save. It was in the corner kick caused by this shot that Ogawa Hangji headed the ball from Kubo Kenying in the middle of the restricted area. In the 6th minute of injury time in the first half, China lost in the corner kick again, and Ko Itakura took the header from his teammate’s middle road and ferried it to the far point to easily head the ball in. After the half-time, China was temporarily behind 0: 2.

China didn’t suffer too much from losing the ball near the end of half-time. Only 3 minutes after the opening of the second half, several players of China team played wonderful cooperation. Xie Wen was able to divide the ball after a continuous breakthrough in the midfield. Wei Shihao cut the ball from the right sideline and passed it obliquely. Lin Liangming, who arrived in the penalty area, kept the ball and pushed it into the far corner. This is also the first time that the Japanese team has been defeated by the opponent in the six games of the World Cup 18 so far.

However, Japan, which was forced to get close to the score, showed the strength of the world’s top teams. In the 54th minute, Itongchun also sent a cross after a breakthrough on the right, and Ogawa Hangji scored twice with a header to expand the score difference to two goals. Shortly after the goal was conceded, ivankovic replaced Zhang Yuning and Li Yuanyi, stepped up the high-level scramble for the Japanese team, and created a good scoring opportunity. Wei Shihao’s long-range shot slipped out of the penalty area. In the subsequent match, both sides dispatched troops one after another, but did not rewrite the score. In the end, China lost to the Japanese team 1: 3 at home.

After this defeat, China’s two-game winning streak was terminated. In another match of the same group that kicked off at the same time, the Indonesian team beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 at home, and won the first victory of the top 18 of the team. At the same time, China, with 2 wins, 4 losses and 6 points, was temporarily squeezed into the fifth position of the group, which made the situation of the group even more confusing. However, under the watchful eye of 45,336 fans at the scene, the China team still played a series of wonderful cooperation and scored goals, which improved the performance compared with the first round.

This game is also the last game of China this year. In March next year, the top 18 matches will rekindle the war, and China will challenge Saudi Arabia away on March 20th.

Source | People’s Daily Client

Original title: "The national football team lost 1: 3, and the good news is …"

Read the original text