Xi Jinping is a huge football fan. China implemented a plan to qualify over 10 years ago but their federation has been rife with corruption. The previous coach Li Tie (who played in Premier league) is in prison for 20 years for bribery.

https://apnews.com/article/china-soccer-bribes-a3fee6547c9fe9f3734d65d23108cf46

The Pakistan Football Federation has had issues with infighting, political interference, and corruption for decades. FIFA has repeatedly banned Pakistan from international football due to third-party/government interference in the federation.

Do you have any examples of cricket matchmaking? From what I’m reading, the planning amounts to always putting Pakistan and India in the same group to maximize viewership and timing the schedule to optimize viewership in India since that’s where the most viewers are.