The reporter reported coldly In the round of 18 in March, after the national team played the Saudi Arabian team away, it will return to Hangzhou to play the Australian team on the 25th.

The line of defense is the hardest hit area

Compared to the Saudi team, the Australian team can be described as suffering from injuries. Following the serious injuries of Serie A Parma centre-back Frank Zikati and Premier League Leicester City centre-back Souttar, there have been recent injuries to internationals, and the number of injuries and attrition has continued to increase. Australia boss Popovich is most worried about the central midfield, as the defence is the hardest hit by this wave of injuries. In addition, the only positive thing for Australia is the return of 1.90-meter-tall South Sudanese high school striker Yanki from injury. In the away game to Bahrain in November last year, Yanki scored twice and scored a valuable point for Australia.

Zikati, who plays for Serie A, has torn a cruciate ligament in his knee and will not return until April at the earliest. Australia's main centre-back Soutar has ruptured his Achilles tendon and will be in recovery for the rest of the year and will not play. In addition, at least nine internationals, including left-back Bos (Westeros, LigA), central defender Burgess (Ipswich, Premier League), Matthews (Portsmouth, Championship), and midfielder McGgreen (Middlesbrough, Championship), have all been injured recently, and it is unknown whether they will be able to reach the round of 18.

Australian media believe that the main Greek central defender Gigianis, who has just won the U20 Asian Cup with the team, will become the replacement for the Australian team. Not only did Gigianis excel in the Under-20 Asian Cup, but Adelaide United soared from 10th place at the start of the season to the top of the table this season, which is closely related to the excellent performance of Gigianis as a main centre-back. In addition, Aussie Premier League's Cáceres (Sydney FC), Velupilé (Melbourne Victory) and Bratan (Macarthur FC) are also favourites to fill in the Australian defence.

There are also difficulties in the same group of opponents

For the Indonesian team, last week was a mixed bag. Happily, goalkeeper Odero (Palermo, Serie B), left-back Dean James (Eagles, Eredivisie) and defender Perupesi (Lomere, B) have all been naturalized and will be sworn in at the Indonesian Embassy in Rome, Italy, on March 10. According to the regulations, the Indonesian Football Association must submit a transfer application to FIFA before March 13 to make it to the round of 18 in March. The Indonesian Football Association is confident that the three newly naturalised players will join the Indonesian team in time, but said it will speed up the process so as not to miss the March matches against Australia and Bahrain due to the long FIFA transfer process.

In addition to the new naturalized players, the new coach of the Indonesian team, Kluivert, is more worried about the suspension and status of the strikers. Although they beat Saudi Arabia at home in November last year to get three points, it was costly, the main central defender Habner accumulated yellow cards and received a red card, the main striker Olamangunn and the defender Jenner both received a second yellow card in the round of 18, and all three were suspended for the first away game against Australia in March. In addition, the main goalkeeper Pais, central defenders Ferdonk and Izes, defender Zhou Yaan and local midfielder Ferdinand also have yellow cards. A re-carding against Australia will result in a suspension for a crucial home game against Bahrain.

Stryk, the main striker who joined the Australian Super League Brisbane Roar last summer, has been reduced to a substitute in the club since the end of last year after participating in the Southeast Asian Cup with the Indonesian team, and his form can be imagined. In addition, left-back Patinama (Auburn, B) and midfielders Zhou Yaan (Swansea, Championship) and Ferdinand (Oxford United, Championship) have barely played at their respective clubs and their form is also doubtful.

On March 5, Bahrain coach Taradzic announced his 25-man squad for the games against Japan and Indonesia. Compared to the championship squad when they won the Gulf Cup in January, substitute goalkeeper Ammar, defender Adele and midfielder Maroud were absent, and midfielder Asfur was not selected due to injury. Rifa goalkeeper Fardan, defender Eckel and Halidiya defender Bugamar were substituted and had little impact on the main lineup. The Bahrain team is also worried about yellow cards, the main central defender Benardi, right-back Emmanuel, midfielder Haram, right winger Madan, substitute left winger Khattar, right-back Shamsan and central defender Bakr are yellow cards, if they eat a card against Japan at home, they will be suspended for the more important away game against Indonesia, but the return of the main central defender Hayam after the suspension period is good news for the Bahrain team.