Indonesia, formerly ranked at the bottom of the table, handed veteran Asian rivals Saudi Arabia a surprising 0-2 defeat and a heartbreaking loss of points.
It was quite disheartening to see Australia face second-to-last Bahrain, who also unexpectedly shook hands in a 2-2 draw.
However, the national soccer team found life in the face of adversity, and instead of being pulled apart by Saudi Arabia and Australia, they clung on and were fortunate to get key scoring chances.
Despite the loss, the national soccer team is far from desperate. The upcoming 7th round of the tournament will be a crucial time for the national soccer team to grab points.
According to the matchup table of the 7th round, the national football team will face the in-form Saudi Arabia, and the possibility of grabbing a point or even all three points should not be underestimated.
Why?
The Saudi Arabia team has internal and external difficulties, the competition in the domestic league is fierce, and many Saudi players lack the opportunity to play. In addition to the recent change of manager, the preparation time is tight, the team tacit understanding is yet to be improved.
While the National Football League has been given a break, the Football Association has missed out on two key moments of support.
On the one hand, the Football Association has promised that the start of next season's Chinese Super League will be staggered with the seventh round of the 18-team tournament to ensure that the national football team will have enough time to prepare for the match. On the other hand, substantial progress has been made in the naturalization of players, with the possibility of Brazilian player Sergio joining the team extremely high, and the naturalization process of former Cangzhou Lions foreign aid player Oscar becoming smoother and smoother.
It is expected that if two strong foreign aiders are successfully introduced before March next year, the national football team will be like a tiger with wings, and the chance of grabbing points on the road will be greatly improved.
Elsewhere in Round 7, Bahrain are away to Japan and appear to be struggling to stave off defeat and could be the first team to be eliminated.
Australia have the upper hand against Indonesia and if they take all three points, Indonesia will be reduced to the second laggard.
It's not looking good for the Aussies to follow that up with a second match against Japan, where they are still at risk of losing.
In contrast to the national football team, the most optimistic prediction for the remaining four matches is to draw Saudi Arabia on the road, go undefeated against Australia at home, and then achieve a double against Indonesia and Bahrain to get two wins and two draws for a total of eight points and a direct progression to the World Cup.
Even with the unexpected, hopes of advancing to the next round remain high if they can get more than 10 points and finish in the top four.
