Not losing to his opponent for 38 years, Chinese men s football team still wants to win this time

Chuanguan News reporter Xue Jian

At 21:45 on June 5, the Chinese men's football team will face the Indonesian team at the Grola Poncano Stadium in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. This is a key battle related to whether the Chinese men's football team can go further in the 2026 US, Canada and Mexico World Cup Asian qualifiers. Faced with an opponent who has never lost in the past 38 years, the Chinese men's football team, who has been forced to the edge of the cliff, wants to continue to win this time.

In the ended 2026 US, Canada and Mexico World Cup Asian Qualifiers, the Chinese men's football team ranked last in the group with 2 wins and 6 losses. With the loss of advancement to the 2026 US, Canada and Mexico World Cup, the Chinese men's football team can only ensure that they are qualified to participate in the 2026 US, Canada and Mexico World Cup Asian Qualifiers play-offs. This away game against the Indonesian team is a game that the Chinese men's football team must win - a draw or a loss, which will end the dream of the Chinese men's football team to strive for the 2026 US, Canada and Mexico World Cup in advance. Indonesia currently ranks fourth in the group with 2 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses, and 9 points. It is the most direct competitor of the Chinese men's football team to win the fourth place in the group.

Judging from the historical record, the last time the Chinese men's football team lost to their opponents was dated back to the 1987 Cup of Thailand. In the following 38 years, the Chinese men's football team and the Indonesian team fought 10 times in various competitions, and the Chinese men's football team won 8 wins and 2 draws remained unbeaten. The last time the two teams met was the fourth round of the 18th Asian qualifiers in this World Cup. The Chinese men's football team defeated their opponents 2:1 and won the first victory in the 18th Asian qualifiers in this World Cup.

However, in this away game, it is difficult for the Chinese men's football team to win. Jakarta's Grola Poncano Stadium is one of the most terrifying "Hell Home" in Asian football. This stadium that can accommodate 80,000 people can bring huge psychological pressure to the visiting team players, and the Australian and South Korean teams have failed here. Relevant data show that the Indonesian team's home winning rate in the Asian qualifiers of this World Cup is 78%, and the visiting team's pass error rate is 12% higher than the average. Not only that, the average temperature in Jakarta in June was as high as 32℃ and the humidity exceeded 80%, which poses a severe test for Chinese players who are accustomed to temperate climates.

More importantly, the Indonesian team also needs to ensure that they score at least 1 point in this game to continue to consolidate their fourth place in the group, and naturally they will not give up on this game easily. However, judging from the personnel recruitment and training arrangements before the game, the Chinese men's football team will still likely continue to use the initial formation of the 442 diamond midfielder in this game. Most of the players entering the starting lineup will be players who played as the main player in previous games. For example, goalkeeper Wang Dalei, central defender Zhu Chenjie, Jiang Guangtai, back midfielder Wang Shangyuan, forward Zhang Yuning, etc. Naturalized player Serginho is likely to start. As for the candidates in other positions, Chinese men's football coach Ivankovic may still need to make final considerations, but the specific candidates will also be generated from players he is familiar with.

At the same time, the AFC has also determined the list of referees for this game, and the Uzbekistan referee team will enforce the game. Among them, Rustam Lutfulin will serve as the referee of this game. In this World Cup Asian qualifiers, he enforced the Indonesian team twice, and both Indonesian teams won the game. His most recent law enforcement match for the Chinese men's football team was at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, when the Chinese men's football team defeated Qatar 1:0.