Chinese supporters did not take off on Tuesday after their team’s defeat against Qatar in the Asian Cup of Nations, “a shame” which now requires China to perform a miracle to qualify for the round of 16.
The Chinese team has not scored a goal since the start of the competition and has no victory after three matches. Qatari striker Hassan Al-Haydos delivered the final blow on Monday, with a superb volley which allowed Qatar to win (1-0).
“You should be ashamed,” Chinese supporters chanted on Monday after the match in Doha, while sports commentators did not hide their exasperation on social networks. “To recover from this disaster, we must act quickly and change coaches,” criticized one of them, Wang Jianxiang on the social network Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of X (formerly Twitter).
Serbian Aleksandar Jankovic, who has coached the Chinese team since February, complained of a series of missed opportunities. “The Asian Cup allowed us to clearly see to what extent many Asian countries have improved their level in football,” said Ji Yuyang, another commentator. Before driving the point home: “China is regressing”.
The Chinese government has great ambitions for the national team, but it remains stuck in 79th place in the Fifa rankings, approximately the same level as 10 years ago. China has hardly shone since the start of the Asian Cup with two draws (0-0) against Tajikistan and Lebanon, respectively 106th and 107th in the Fifa rankings.
“To string together three matches without a goal or victory in a group like this is shameful,” said sports commentator Zhao Yu, quoted by the Chinese media and in tune with many Internet users. China’s defeat against Qatar led to an outpouring of anger on Weibo, where a hashtag linked to the match recorded 180 million views.
Chinese public television broadcast a documentary at the beginning of the month in which former coach Li Tie admitted to having participated in match-fixing and paid bribes to obtain his position. “After so many years of corruption, no wonder we no longer have any talent on the ground,” complained an Internet user, annoyed.
