Having claimed two victories against Kyrgyzstan (1-0) and the Philippines (3-0) in Group C, China already sealed a spot in the knockout stage of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the UAE. A question remains: Which team will China meet after the group stage?
Before the analysis, first, there are the rules that decide which teams can enter the best 16. Besides all the No. 1 and No. 2 ranking teams of the six groups (in total 12), four of the No. 3 ranking ones with the best performance will make it to the next round, making it 16.
No. 2 scenario
China will become No. 2 of Group C if they lose in their last match against South Korea on Wednesday and thus will play against No. 2 of Group A, specifically one of the UAE (host), India, Thailand and Bahrain. The plot thickened so much in this group after the first two rounds of matches and there's hope for any team to enter the knockout stage while as No. 2 ranking.
The two matches, UAE vs. Thailand, India vs. Bahrain on Monday will decide the final rankings of Group A:
All possibilities of Group A after the third match at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup /CGTN Photo
From the infographic, it's clear that nothing can be confirmed until the two matches are over.
No. 1 scenario
China will become No. 1 of Group A either via draw or beating South Korea on Wednesday. In that case, the team will have more time for resting and preparation because they will take on a No. 3 ranking team that may come from Group A, Group B or Group F on January 22.
This will create an even more complicated situation. Currently, the rankings of all six No. 3 teams are: 1. Thailand (A, 3 points), 2. Syria (B, 1 point), 3. Kyrgyzstan (C, 0 points), 4. Oman (F, 0 points), 5. Vietnam (D, 0 points) and 6. Lebanon (E, 0 points). If the rankings remain after the third round of group matches, China will play against Syria in an expectedly very tough match.
Chinese players train for their next match at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. /VCG Photo
Therefore, there's no way to tell which team China will take on after South Korea but to wait until all matches are over on Friday. Considering that China burnt themselves multiple times before thinking too much about how to play in order to take the "easiest opponent." By learning from the past, it is wise to focus on improving themselves.