Angry netizens blast China’s ‘embarrassing’ and ‘humiliating’ defeat by Vietnam, with Fifa World Cup 2022 hopes over
- Historic 3-1 loss quickly becomes the top trending topic on China’s Twitter-like social media platform Weibo
- ‘Such a score, and such a defeat to miss the World Cup is absolutely unacceptable to every Chinese fan,’ one user writes
China suffered an emphatic 3-1 defeat at the hands of Vietnam in Hanoi on Tuesday night, which ended their slim hopes of qualifying for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
And football fans on Chinese social media were left fuming at the final whistle, as their Lunar New Year celebrations turned sour.
Having lost seven consecutive games in their campaign to become the first team eliminated from the third and final round of Asian qualifiers, Park Hang-so’s Vietnam side produced a stunning display to secure their first ever win over the Chinese.
Goals from Ho Tan Tai and Nguyen Thien Linh put Vietnam 2-0 up within 16 minutes, before Phan Van Duc made sure of the three points 14 minutes from the end of regulation time.
Xu Xin grabbed a consolation goal for the visitors in the seventh minute of added time, but fifth-placed China will now be playing for pride in their final two Group B games against Saudi Arabia and Oman, with the top three qualification spots out of reach.