Chinese football must get its act together
- At the World Cup, Japan, South Korea and Australia have shown what Asian nations are capable of; it’s now time for the world’s most populous nation to find 11 players who can emulate the triumphs of other teams from the region
Asian teams have wowed the football community with their impressive performances in the World Cup. Japan, South Korea and Australia all made it through to the knockout stages with dramatic wins. There were shock victories against top-rated teams. Japan beat Germany and Spain. South Korea defeated Portugal. Australia overcame Denmark. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, produced one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history with a win over Argentina.
Fans in China watched with some pride at the region’s successes but also regret that their team failed to even qualify for the finals in Qatar. A Chinese social media influencer wept as Japan triumphed, asking: “Why can they win and we can’t?”
China’s team made their first and, so far, last appearance in the finals in 2002. They lost every match and did not score a goal. Other Asian nations have been much more successful. South Korea reached the semi-finals in 2002. Japan have progressed to the last 16 four times, Australia twice and Saudi Arabia once.
This time, a record six Asian nations competed in the finals, including hosts Qatar. The number of slots for teams from the region is to be increased to eight or nine for the 2026 World Cup. Chinese fans remain pessimistic. China are ranked 11th in Asia and 79th in the world. But they should be encouraged by the achievements of other Asian teams. This shows what can be done.
A national effort to take China’s team to the top has failed. Last week, it emerged a former head coach is being investigated by an anti-corruption watchdog. Li Tie quit in December after an unsuccessful two-year spell. This follows a big crackdown on corruption in football a decade ago.
It is time for a fresh start. China has recently launched a campaign to promote and improve its much more successful women’s team, with plans to host the 2031 women’s World Cup. Many fans believe it is better to focus on the women.
But China, with its 1.4 billion population and huge fan base should be able to find 11 players who can emulate the triumphs of other Asian teams, for both men and women. Meanwhile, fans can only watch the World Cup and dream.
