“Can we not even qualify for the World Cup with 48 countries?”

The inferiority complex of Chinese soccer fans exploded.

Under the leadership of coach Branko Ivanković, China lost 0-1 to Indonesia in the 9th match of Group C in the final Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup, held at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the 5th.

As a result of the defeat, China confirmed its last place in the group, finishing 6th with 6 points (2 wins and 7 losses). Regardless of the remaining match, they can no longer enter the top 4, thus ruining their chances of qualifying for the World Cup.

The shock is very great for China. President Xi Jinping has promoted a 'soccer rise' and nurtured elite soccer players. Considerable investments were made to bear fruit through World Cup qualification. They even brought in a foreign coach for a large sum.

However, the result is another failure. China confirmed its third-tier status in Asia by conceding 20 goals in 9 matches. This contrasts with Indonesia, whom they regarded as inferior, thriving under coach Shin Tae-yong. China was absolutely outperformed by Indonesia in terms of shots, with a tally of 5 to 13.

Moreover, starting from the North and Central America World Cup, the number of teams qualifying for the finals increased from the previous 32 to 48. Despite China having 8.5 tickets allocated for Asia, they suffered the humiliation of being eliminated early by finishing last in their group.

Chinese fans also exploded with anger. 'Sohu.com' reported the sentiments of furious Chinese soccer fans. Fans expressed extreme reactions, stating, “I threw my TV out of anger,” “Is there nothing China can do?” and “If this is the case, let's give up soccer! Disband the national soccer team.”

The news that Korea, with a population of less than 1/26 of China's 1.3 billion, has qualified for the World Cup for the 11th consecutive time further deepens the lament of Chinese fans. Fans lamented, “Is it reasonable that a small country like Korea can qualify for the 11th time while a big country like China cannot?” and “Why is Korea so good at soccer?” They also remarked, “It will take 20 years to catch up with Korea and Japan,” and “China should just focus on excelling in other sports.”

[OSEN]