Major media outlets and Chinese social networks are outraged by the national team's performance in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup.
China finished third in Group A with two points. To progress, they must hope Syria draw 0-0 with India in Group B and receive another yellow card, and Palestine draw with Hong Kong in Group C.
The Paper said China only had a 0.52% chance of making it past the group stage, and also mentioned the future of coach Aleksandar Jankovic. The article said: "The Chinese Football Association must take responsibility for choosing coach Jankovic, who lacks experience leading clubs and the national team. But now is not the ideal time to replace him as the second round of World Cup qualifiers is approaching."
China (blue shirt) lost to Qatar (red shirt) 0-1 in the final match of Group A of the 2023 Asian Cup. Photo: Lam Thoa
Also pessimistic about the home team's ability to continue, Soccer News has a more harsh view: "Waiting is a new form of torture that the team brings to the fans."
The Chinese football newspaper said that even if the team made it through the group stage, it would not change its weak nature. The members were recognized for their hard work, but the bottom line was that the actual results were not up to par, making fans even more desperate. China failed to score a goal and only took two points in the group stage, their worst performance since their first appearance at the Asian Cup in 1976.
Soccer News continued to analyze: "This is not the worst team in terms of attitude. Previously, the team was full of internal conflicts and even worse phenomena. But if we consider purely technical skills, this is the weakest team in history, but this is certainly not the darkest moment."
Chinese football is worried about the future when the average age of the starting lineup in the last three matches is 30. The generation of players born in 1995 and 1997 will also become veterans in four years. Meanwhile, the young generation born from 2000 to 2002 has not brought any notable faces. Coming to the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals in April, China is at risk of being eliminated in the group stage when having to play Japan, South Korea and the UAE.
Main events of the match China lost 0-1 to Qatar.
Regarding the 0-1 loss to Qatar in the final round yesterday, Chinese media all said that the home team played poorly despite being in a position to win points. Starting striker Wei Shihao received the most criticism for missing four good chances in the first half. "I wonder if Wei saw the goal when he shot?", wrote Sina Sports . "China is almost certainly eliminated. If they go through, fans should ask when these players will score, instead of expecting them to go far."
On the Sohu portal, there are many articles with the theme that this is the worst team in China, with harsh words such as "humiliation", "despair", "shameful"... CCTV channel posted a video of the Chinese players' missed chances in the first half and commented: "The strikers are too bad. It's not easy to have such opportunities, but they let them all pass by in an incomprehensible way".
On Weibo - China's most popular social network, the keyword "China eliminated from Asian Cup" is in the top group with nearly one million searches.
In addition to criticizing the disjointed playing style, lack of spirit and fighting spirit, Chinese fans also had many harsh words for coach Jankovic. "He is the most expensive foreign coach in Chinese history. Perhaps we need to review the process of appointing him," one account wrote.
"The role of a coach is to bring players together and bring out their strengths," another wrote, "But what has happened shows that the team has no cohesion at all.
Wei Shihao (No. 20) dribbles the ball during China's 0-1 loss to Qatar in the final match of Group A of the 2023 Asian Cup. Photo: Lam Thoa
For his part, Wei Shihao admitted that he had to taste the "bitter fruit" but it was not limited to just one defeat. "The fans came all the way to cheer us on, but we played so badly," he said. "Asian teams are improving, but we are standing still, even falling behind in every aspect. We no longer have an advantage no matter who we play against."
Wei’s views are in contrast to coach Jankovic’s, who said that Chinese football is not regressing. When asked to elaborate on why Chinese football is not progressing, the 28-year-old striker said it was impossible to summarize briefly.
Yesterday, Wei Shihao played 67 minutes. The Wuhan Three Towns striker said he has not fully recovered from his injury but is trying to play.
Wu Lei – who played for Spanish club Espanyol – also admitted that the level of Asian football is shrinking. "Weaker teams have improved their individual skills and the tempo of the game. China still has many shortcomings and must improve in all aspects," the 32-year-old striker said, apologizing for disappointing fans and hoping to work harder and improve to satisfy them in the future.
Mid-Autumn Festival
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