AFC Asian Cup: Chinese football fans slam their team’s efforts on Weibo, suggest Hong Kong would represent country better

Social media users reject forward Wu Lei’s suggestion that China have struggled partly because the underdogs got better

‘I think the Hong Kong team can play better than China if they represented the national team,’ one says

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China forward Wu Lei (left), along with teammates Wu Xi (centre) and Zhang Yuning, is downcast after Monday’s defeat. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:35pm, 23 Jan 2024Updated: 6:24pm, 23 Jan 2024

Mainland Chinese football fans have slammed their team’s AFC Asian Cup showing – with one suggesting minnows Hong Kong would do a better job of representing the wider country.

After a lacklustre 1-0 defeat to a much-changed Qatar on Monday, supporters at the stadium in Doha shouted “you should be ashamed of yourselves” and ironically chanted “happy new year” towards China’s players. The result, which consigned China to third place in their group, came with the country’s biggest annual holiday approaching.

Online, there was a backlash against forward Wu Lei’s argument that the tournament’s weaker teams had become stronger.

“I’ve watched all the [Asian Cup] games and the teams we would have considered underdogs before, the way they approach the game and individual quality … have all improved,” Wu said.

A Weibo user sparked a debate by asking who were the “supposed underdogs” Wu was referring to, implying that China were the weakest team in the finals.

Wu Lei and his colleagues again lacked a cutting edge at Khalifa International Stadium on Monday. Photo: AFP

“Who said the typical underdogs have got better? China have always been the weakest team and aren’t improving,” another vented.