China has no chance of going straight to the 2026 World Cup

China team is out of breath in the race for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

On the evening of March 25, at home in Hangzhou, coach Branko Ivankovic and his team received another bad result, officially ending their hope of winning a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

The match took place with great expectations from Chinese fans, as the red team needed a victory to keep alive their slim hope of competing for second place in the group, or reaching the fourth qualifying round. However, from the very first minutes, Australia showed superiority in ball control and the ability to organize attacks.

The visitors quickly dominated the game, while China looked confused in their play. In the 17th minute, midfielder Jackson Irvine opened the scoring for Australia. The early goal further confused the Chinese defense, while their offense failed to create significant opportunities to respond.

In the 34th minute, Nishan Velupillay doubled the gap for the "Socceroos" with a tricky finish, leaving the Hangzhou stadium in silence. In the second half, coach Ivankovic made a number of personnel changes, but late efforts from China could not penetrate the solid Australian defense.

After this defeat, China has no chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup through a direct ticket, as they are 7 points behind the second-placed team Australia, in the context of only 2 matches left in Group C. With only 6 points currently, China still has a slim hope of winning one of the two tickets to the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Australia has 13 points after 8 matches, holding a big advantage to win a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup when it is 3 points ahead of the third-placed team Saudi Arabia.

Source: https://znews.vn/trung-quoc-het-co-hoi-vao-thang-world-cup-2026-post1540816.html