China soccer fans look forward to World Cup ‘holiday’ as Hong Kong chances are written off
Mainland media scoffed at the prospect of Hong Kong posing any challenge to China in the World Cup qualifiers after Tuesday’s draw.
Mainland media scoffed at the prospect of Hong Kong posing any challenge to China in the World Cup qualifiers after Tuesday’s draw.
The consensus was that China got the best possible draw after being grouped with Qatar, Bhutan, Maldives and Hong Kong in group C. Qatar might pose some troubles while the three others are “too weak to stop them” said Sina.
Hong Kong famously won in Beijing in 1985 to knock China out of the running for Mexico 86 – and although they were hammered 7-0 by China in Guangzhou in 2004, a crucial penalty save from Hong Kong’s Fan Chun-yip ensured China missed out on the next stage of qualification for the 2006 World Cup on goal difference.
Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily said although Hong Kong had twice brought them poor memories in the World Cup qualifiers, times have changed and China would not be hurt for a third time.
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Qilu Evening News from Shandong said some the qualifiers would be a perfect holiday opportunity for China fans after “going for vacation in Maldives, worshipping the Buddha in Bhutan, shopping in Hong Kong and having a sunbath in Qatar”.
The Beijing Times (Jing Hua Shi Bao), a People’s Daily-affiliated tabloid, said “The three other teams, Bhutan, Maldives and Hong Kong are all very limited in their strength and that's why the national team coach cannot help smiling after the draw was made”.
They quoted China international Yang Yu’s Weibo, saying they needed to get full points from these three teams in order to compete for top spot with Qatar.
Former China international Xu Liang said on Weibo that “this is absolutely the best of the best draw and if China cannot make it to the next round, not only the national team coach and the players, the Chinese Football Association officials should also take a shower and go to bed early”
China coach Alain Perrin seemed only concerned about Qatar, where he used to work: "I am full of confidence for the success of China but ... I don’t want to play against Qatar.
"Because I worked in Qatar and know them very well. I think Qatar are the strongest team in group two, so I was hoping to avoid this team."
China have qualified for the World Cup only once in 2002 and exited from the tournament with three straight defeats and without scoring a single goal.
Hong Kong fans on social media reminded “big brother” of those two painful experiences in 1985 and 2004.
And former Hong Kong coach Kwok Ka-ming, who led the team to that famous victory 30 years ago, insisted: “You never know the final result before match. This is soccer. Let’s hope Hong Kong will perform to their best to achieve good results”.
