With the home-and-away format adopted, the question of the location of the finals, which was previously discussed by East and West Asian countries, no longer exists.

Next, Blatter went on to publish the FIFA rules: "... The next stage of the competition will start in September..."

"No, I'm against it!"

Before Blatter could finish speaking, the secretary general of the Saudi Football Federation stood up and objected: "The temperature in West Asia can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius in September, so it is impossible to play, and the players of the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean teams will definitely not adapt." I think that playing in such weather is not good for the health of athletes, it is cruel, and it is not in line with the Olympic spirit! ”

"As a footballer, the weather doesn't determine his level!" Blatter calmly retorted, "A good football player and a good football team should not be affected by the weather. ”

Blatter's words are tough and give the impression of "it has to be". With that, he turned around and walked out of the conference room.

No one knows what Blatter is going to do when he leaves, and during this period, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran have all pointed out that the competition time in September is too tight, and the players are on vacation and cannot train well. And some have intensified, believing that the home-and-away format has undermined their plans, and insisting on the AFC's C plan, that is, the tournament system.

China, Japan and South Korea also raised their hands to speak, believing that the September game had a great impact and impact on their national leagues.

After a while, Blatter returned to the conference room.

"Gentlemen."

Blatter handed the note in his hand to Villapan to read, then held it up and said to everyone: "According to the information provided by the International Meteorological Observatory, the temperature in the Middle East in September is between 30 and 35 degrees, not 50 degrees. So this decision of FIFA is not contrary to the Olympic spirit. ”

"Gentlemen!"

Blatter's tone became tough again.

"This matter has already been decided and cannot be changed, but it can be considered to be postponed in time."

"The World Cup is hosted by FIFA and FIFA has the right to decide everything. This decision is made in accordance with Article 4, Paragraph 8 of the Regulations, which states that in the event of a dispute between the participating associations regarding the venue and date of the competition, the decision shall be made by the FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee and the Qualifying Committee, and these decisions shall be final! ”

Seeing Blatter say this, the ten participating countries also had no objections.

Wang Junsheng whispered to Qi Wusheng: "It's good now, and those members of Jianlibao can't get out." If you think about it, if you have to come back for the top 10 as soon as you go out to report, which club would agree? Plus you can't play the top 10 for a while? When the time comes, it's the New Year, and if I want them to try their luck at the end of the year. ”

"Hehe, isn't that right?" Qi Shusheng chuckled, "What if these team members are injured abroad during this period?" Taking a plane back and forth also affects the state, so it's better not to go out! ”

"But I think even so, if you still want to seek a transfer, the club must be very important to this player."

Wang Junsheng and Qi Wusheng glanced at each other, and they both shrugged their shoulders.

"Mr. Ladd can always look at things from a more peculiar angle."

Blatter continued: "The organizing committee and the emergency committee also decided that the two teams that qualified for the last World Cup in Asia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, will be seeded in two groups, and the remaining eight teams will be drawn in mixed draws into the two groups. The runners-up from both groups will play their knockout rounds in neutral countries on 16 November, with the winners advancing to the World Cup finals. The loser plays home and away matches against Australia on 20 and 29 November, with the winner advancing to the World Cup final. ”

"Gentlemen."

Blatter spoke earnestly.

"I know you all have special difficulties, but I think you can all overcome them and play well."

"We want to let the world know that FIFA is capable of hosting more than a dozen times, and that the organization and results of the previous World Cups have been very successful, and we have won the respect of the people of the world. So as a football association in a participating country, you should show people that you are capable of going to the World Cup. ”

"Good luck to you!"

Blatter's impassioned and impassioned speech at the end made people feel that the authority of FIFA is unshakable, and everyone could not help but applaud.

After the meeting, some West Asian countries cursed, and the secretary general of the Qatar Football Association complained: "Verappan is not an old boy, he has no prestige at all." It's really bad, and if you can't figure it out, just find your parents? What kind of ability is this? Can't we solve the problems of Asia on our own? ”

"Humph! If you want me to say, it's time for these people in the AFC to change. This year's AFC is wearing the same pants as East Asians, and it's time for some fresh blood to appear. The representative of the Iranian Football Association also nodded.

"Damn it, how am I going to explain it to China now? Originally, all the preparations were prepared according to the competition system, but now they are all overturned, and I don't know if the players will make trouble! Alas! The UAE's football representatives shook their heads in the same way.

Asian football is not united within the country, and it is impossible to decide where to play in the tournament system.

Inviting FIFA to intervene to coordinate has damaged the reputation of Villapan and the AFC, and has also been subjected to some unwarranted accusations. Not only has the AFC become completely disprestigious, but Villapan's leadership and ability to work have also been questioned.

"But isn't the problem solved in the end?" Ladd chuckled, "If you can't solve the problem yourself and let others help you solve it, then the result will only hurt the interests of all teams." ”

......

On July 22, at 18 p.m. Beijing time and 12 noon local time in Switzerland, the draw ceremony of the "Top 10 Competition" was held on Swiss TV, and Blatter presided over the draw ceremony.

All 10 teams sent delegations of key leaders and head coaches from the Football Association, and six television stations broadcast the 15-minute draw live.

Many people think that all the teams participating in the draw will be sent by their own national football associations to draw lots, but in fact, the FIFA draw is drawn by celebrities or staff, and all representatives of the national football associations are spectators, and can only watch the draw results nervously.

The draw ceremony began, and Blatter asked the staff to draw the ball in the first bottle.

The beautiful lady of manners reached into the bottle and pulled it out, already holding a small ball in her hand.

"I remember the older generation catching monkeys like that." Qi Miaosheng muttered quietly, "It's just that the mouth of that bottle is much smaller than this." ”

Blatter took the ball, unscrewed it, pulled out a note, and spread it out with both hands.

"It's Saudi Arabia!"

Someone recognized the words on the note.

In this way, Saudi Arabia is in Group A, and the rest of the balls do not need to be watched, and the other seeded team, South Korea, is naturally placed in Group B.

Immediately afterward, Blatter led the staff to a second large bottle, which contained eight small red balls.

The first, Kuwait, is in Group A; The second is Kazakhstan, which is in Group B.

After the third ball was drawn, everyone could read the letters written on it: CHINA.

"Whew~~~"

Wang Junsheng and Qi Wusheng glanced at each other, and they both read the meaning in each other's eyes.

At the very least, you don't have to deal with the South Korean team in this top 10 match.

The fourth draw was Japan, which was placed in Group B. This was followed by Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

"It's a winning lottery." Wang Junsheng analyzed. "It's not bad."

If Iran were to be replaced by the UAE or Kazakhstan, that would be ideal; If you replace Kuwait or Qatar with the call of South Korea and Japan, it is the worst.

In fact, the Chinese team in Group A is surrounded by West Asian teams, which can be called "Dancing with Wolves".

Iran, Saudi Arabia and China are the three strongest teams in this group, and the three teams must squeeze out at least one team, and for China, Iran is the most threatening.

Although they lost more than they won in the past encounters, the Iranian team did not taste the sweetness in last year's Asian Cup and this year's friendly match, but the Chinese team finally won the Asian Cup.

In addition, the youth team came back with a world championship before the top ten, and Wang Junsheng still had a bottom in his heart at this time.

On the other hand, from the perspective of competition, such a grouping is also very disadvantageous to the Chinese team in terms of itinerary.

As a result, the Chinese team had to fly to the Middle East four times, each flight lasting about 12 hours, and the four round-trips would take 100 hours. On the other hand, the remaining four teams only need to fly to China once, and the round-trip time is no more than one day. From this point of view, the Chinese team is actually very disadvantageous.

But fortunately, the Chinese team and these teams have played against each other recently, so they are more familiar with each other. Coupled with the fact that the Chinese team has recently won two consecutive major tournaments, it has a psychological advantage.

At the end of the analysis, Wang Junsheng looked at the two coaches in front of him, one Chinese and one foreign, and asked, "Do you two have anything else to say?" ”

Rad shrugged his shoulders and signaled that he was okay. No matter what kind of opponent he encounters, he will do his best to deal with it.

Qi Shusheng coughed, "Chairman, what I want to say is that let's hurry back to China." Hurry up and train to improve your strength. As long as our strength comes up, other problems are not problems. ”

"Good!" Wang Jun snapped his fingers, "Let's go back to China tomorrow!" ”