It's amazing that there aren't 23 good soccer players among a population of 1.4 billion.
Spain's 'AS' reported on the 7th (Korean time) that 'it's an odd situation. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, fails to qualify for the World Cup again,' referring to the poor performance of the Chinese national soccer team. AS pointed out the decline of soccer in populous China, dubbing it 'China: a country where strange things happen.'
China, led by coach Branko Ivankovic, lost to Indonesia 0-1 in the 9th match of Group C in the final Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, held at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the 5th. With this defeat, China remains at the bottom of the group in 6th place with 6 points (2 wins and 7 losses), making it impossible to finish in the top four regardless of the result of the remaining match, eliminating their chances of advancing to the main tournament.
In particular, the 20 goals conceded in 9 matches are the most in Group C and among the highest in Asia. China, which desperately needed a victory to qualify for the World Cup, conceded the opening goal through a penalty kick in the first 45 minutes and failed to equalize. A crucial shot by Wang Yidong early in the second half was saved by the goalkeeper, missing the opportunity. China needed to win this match but only managed 5 attempts at shooting (1 on target), while Indonesia had 13 attempts (3 on target).
Thus, despite the number of Asian region tickets increasing to 8.5 for this World Cup, China faced the bitter taste of early elimination. This World Cup marks an assessment that qualifying for the tournament has become easier than ever, with the number of participating countries increasing to 48. The dominant view is that this was a consideration by FIFA for China.
However, this time again, China has failed to qualify for the World Cup, continuing its record of failing to advance for six consecutive tournaments. China now has to look forward to the upcoming year of 2030. Shortly after the match ended, Tencent Sports in China reported on the disappointment with the title 'A history of blood and tears! The Chinese national soccer team, six failures.'
Tencent Sports wrote, 'For the 2026 North America World Cup, the allocation of 8.5 tickets to Asia was seen as a golden opportunity, but China barely passed the second qualifying round. After Ivankovic was appointed as coach, they suffered a devastating 0-7 loss to Japan and started with three consecutive defeats. Although they kept hope alive by beating Indonesia and Bahrain, they faced three consecutive losses afterward, leading to their elimination two games before the main tournament. Ultimately, they failed to qualify completely after losing to Indonesia.'
Meanwhile, criticism is growing in China as well. One fan exclaimed, 'FIFA blatantly increased the number of participating countries for the World Cup for China and distributed many tickets to Asia. Yet, China failed to make it again. What kind of privilege does FIFA need to give for us to qualify?'
AS stated, 'China is an absurd country. It's amazing that with a population of 1.4 billion, they can be so poor at soccer.' They added, 'Starting from the 2026 North America World Cup, 48 countries are confirmed to participate, with 8.5 slots for the World Cup, yet China still hasn't found a breakthrough. Is it reasonable for a country with 1.4 billion people not to have 23 excellent soccer players?'
This media outlet analyzed, 'Chinese fans are expressing disappointment over the repeated failures in World Cup qualifiers. The biggest problem is that the Chinese national soccer team is not improving on the Asian stage.' They noted that 'even renowned coaches like Marcello Lippi failed to lead China to the World Cup.'
It added, 'China's elimination from the World Cup highlights fundamental issues such as weak youth development and an incomplete league system.' Furthermore, 'the gap between Chinese soccer and the rapidly growing Asian powerhouses like Korea, Japan, and Iran is widening.'
[OSEN]