The four teams in Group C of the round of 18 have the same score & the national football team is only 1 point away from the second, and the "big melee" is a decisive battle

The reporter reported coldly The national football team lost to Japan 1-3 at home, Indonesia defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0 at home, Bahrain conceded a goal in stoppage time again at home and was drawn by Australia, and the 6th round of the round of 18 ended, and the situation of Group C qualifying was even more stalemate. Japan is on top of the pack with 16 points, followed by second-placed Australia with just seven points and Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and China on six. Japan, who are far ahead, only need to beat Bahrain at home in March next year to basically secure the qualification ahead of schedule. Any result of the remaining five teams in the next four games will determine the other 1 direct qualification place and 2 play-off places.

Against Saudi Arabia, Shen Tai Long changed the formation of 532 and still started nine naturalized players, with local attacker Ferdinand replacing Sayuri and becoming the decisive hero. Indonesia trailed Saudi Arabia in possession (23 per cent to 77 per cent) and shots on goal (13 versus 23), but the counter-attacking efficiency improved significantly. The number of shots on target (6 to 3) and the number of scoring chances (4 to 1) were higher than Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian team is still inefficient in front of goal without seriously injured midfielder Al-Faraj and attacking stalwart Salman Dawsari.

In the 31st minute, Olamangu made an inverted triangle cross from the left, and Ferdinand deducted the Saudi defender Ghamdi who was returning to the defense and volleyed the goal. In the 56th minute, Stryker broke through the penalty area on the right and crossed Ferdinand, and the latter's shot was blocked by two Saudi defenders and then made a follow-up shot to seal the win.

Ferdinand, who scored twice, ran to the bench on the sidelines after scoring a goal and sat down on the bench with a unique celebration, which also attracted countless shots from the scene, and was even broadcast as a classic in major Indonesian media after the game.

In the qualifying round, Indonesia won its first 13 matches against Saudi Arabia and the first win in the round of 18. With six points, Indonesia overtook Vietnam (four points) and Thailand (two points) to become the team with the most points in the group stage of the Asian final stage of the World Cup. Although the Indonesian team paid the huge price of the main defender Haye, Ferdinan and right-back Walsh to retire with injuries in succession, and the main central defender Habner was sent off for accumulating yellow cards, they finally gained three valuable points.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, continued to slump after the change of manager, except for the 1-1 reversal in the first game against Indonesia and the 2-1 reversal in the second game, they have not scored anything in the next four rounds, and are currently the team with the fewest goals in Group C.

In another match-up later in the game, Bahrain conceded a stoppage-time goal at home and were held to a draw by Australia, missing out on a double and suffering a five-game winless run in the round of 18 after upsetting Australia in the first round.

In this campaign, Taladzic changed 433, Australian coach Popovich changed as many as 5 main players, and the return of South Sudanese center Yanji, who had expired his suspension, also scored two goals and became the number one contributor. The campaign was similar to Bahrain's battle against Indonesia, but Bahrain went from a draw to a draw.

In the opening 38 seconds, Bahrain's central defender Bakr made a mistake in returning the goalkeeper's pass, and after being tackled by Yanji, he shook the goalkeeper and shot the goal to open the scoring. After half-time, Taladzic made three attackers in a row to attack with all his might, and the previous main center Abduljabbar scored twice in two minutes after coming off the bench: in the 75th minute, Soutar made a mistake in clearing the ball, and Abduljabbar scored from a distance. Two minutes later, Matthews' header hit the post and bounced off the goal, but Abdul Jabbar took the lead with a follow-up shot. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Borriello's header was blocked by Bahrain defender Nabil, and the defender Jurasi fell to the ground and made a mistake in clearing the ball, and Yanji made a supplementary goal.

The first round of the second half of the round of 18 is similar to the first half of the first round: the national football team still loses to the strongest Japanese team, and the main rivals Indonesia and Bahrain, who finished fourth in the group, have both won points. However, the national football team has the same points as Indonesia and Bahrain, and is still on the same starting line compared to the lag in the first round in the first half. This means that the final four rounds of matches in March and June next year will be decisive for each of the five teams outside of Japan. The advantage of the national football schedule is that it has not dropped the points of the first two-legged match against Japan, and the disadvantage is that the main rivals Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are away, and any defeat will fall into a comprehensive passivity.

Among the national football rivals, Indonesia has the best schedule, beating Saudi Arabia at home to get the first three points, and then playing Bahrain and the national football team at home, aiming to win all six points. Saudi Arabia, which has a goal drought in four games, has a poor schedule and will play away to Bahrain and Japan in succession.

The two rounds of matches in March next year are likely to be waterbreaks, with the national team playing Saudi Arabia away and then at home to Australia, and given Indonesia and Bahrain's impressive performances against Saudi Arabia, the national team may no longer be aiming to just score points. Thankfully, the injury situation should be alleviated and the preparation will be better than it is now. The situation in Group C is changing rapidly, and it may be difficult to decide the other three teams other than the Japanese team until the last minute. This is an opportunity for the national football team, but it is also a 4 decisive battle with very low margin for error.