Chinese football could take generations to revive, head coach Li Xiaopeng suggests, after shock 3-1 defeat by Vietnam ends World Cup hopes
- Li gives a sobering assessment of state of men’s national team as fans take to social media to vent frustration
- ‘Chinese football will definitely revive in the future, but it needs hard work, generation by generation,’ coach says
National men’s team head coach Li Xiaopeng has suggested the revival of Chinese football fortunes could take generations to come about.
While the Chinese women’s national team remains in good health, with World Cup qualification still in sight, the men’s slim hopes of reaching Qatar 2022 were inauspiciously ended two games early with a shocking 3-1 defeat by Vietnam in Hanoi on Tuesday night.
It was Vietnam’s first win in Group B in the third and final round of Asian qualifiers, following a seven-match losing streak, leaving China fifth out of six teams with just five points from eight games.
“Chinese football will definitely revive in the future, but it needs hard work, generation by generation,” Li told reporters after the match.
The defeat had somewhat soured Lunar New Year celebrations in China, and quickly became the top trending topic on Twitter-like social media platform Weibo.