$word}-
Chinese soccer appears to be getting worse despite Xi's pledge
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 7,al-hilal vs al-ettifaq lineups 2024 at 10:15 JST
- Share
- Tweet list
Japan's Kaoru Mitoma, left, celebrates his teams second goal during a World Cup and AFC Asian Qualifier between Japan and China at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.(AP Photo)
Chinese President Xi Jinping is reported to be a big soccer fan, and he promised in a 2015 document to resuscitate the men's national team, damaged by abysmal results on the global stage and widespread corruption in local leagues.
He cannot be happy.
Japan defeated China 7-0 on Thursday in a World Cup qualifier in Saitama, Japan, a brutal loss that came against one of China's biggest sports and geopolitcal rivals in Asia. It was China's most lopsided loss against Japan, and a historic loss in World Cup qualifying.
China's national team coach Branko Ivankovic of Croatia called it a “most difficult night,” as quoted in English by the official Xinhua news agency, which termed the loss “humiliating.”
Wataru Endo and Kaoru Mitoma scored in the first half on a night of Asian World Cup qualifiers. Takumi Minamino scored twice in the second half with others from Daizen Maeda, Junya Ito and Takefusa Kubo.
“It was a tough match,” Xinhua quoted Ivankovic as saying. “And as a coach, this was the most difficult night for me.”
Reaction in China was muted on state media. The China Sports Daily had a very short story titled: “China lost to Japan in World Cup qualifier" with few details.
But there was more discussion on Chinese social media.
Zhang Feng, a journalist and commentator with a popular blog, was direct.
“Football cannot be boosted by singing odes, or telling stories,” he wrote. “It needs skill, and physical and tactical training. It cannot be accomplished through politics.”
Tang Yinghong. a prolific writer with a large following, suggested football is not a good fit for China, which won 40 gold medals in the recent Paris Olympics to tie the United States. Some were in sports like diving and others that do not have a large global following.
“In my opinion, let’s just let football develop on its own,” Tang wrote. “Leaders should not place high hopes on the sport, and the government needn’t give it a lot of care.”
China has nine more qualifying matches remaining, and still has a shot at reaching the expanded, 48-team World Cup in 2026, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. But even with the larger and weakened field, China still might not make it.
China has qualified only once for the World Cup. It lost all three matches in 2002 and failed to score a goal.
China is No. 87 in the most recent FIFA rankings for men's teams, just below the Caribbean island of Curaçao (population 150,000), and just above the African nation of Equatorial Guinea (1.7 million). China's population is about 1.4 billion.
相关文章
MLB/ Dodgers win World Series, overcome 5
MLB/ Dodgers win World Series, overcome 5-run deficit with help of errors to beat Yankees 7-62024-11-16- 細野勇策が単独首位浮上日本人33年ぶりのレフティーVへ2024年9月27日 16時56分スポーツ報知◆男子プロゴルフツアーバンテリン東海クラシック第2日27日、愛知・三好CC西C=7300ヤード、パー2024-11-16
大谷翔平、2戦連続V打で自身初優勝「集中しすぎて」 シャンパンファイトは「痛かった」…一問一答
大谷翔平、2戦連続V打で自身初優勝「集中しすぎて」シャンパンファイトは「痛かった」…一問一答2024年9月27日 15時33分スポーツ報知◆米大リーグドジャース7―2パドレス26日、米カリフォルニア州2024-11-16【西武】ドラフト2位右腕の上田大河が28日のロッテ戦でプロ初先発「自信を持って勝負していきたい」
【西武】ドラフト2位右腕の上田大河が28日のロッテ戦でプロ初先発「自信を持って勝負していきたい」2024年9月27日 16時58分スポーツ報知西武のドラフト2位右腕・上田大河が28日のロッテ戦ベルーナ2024-11-16加護亜依「パパさん」「娘」仲良しショットがすてき!69歳誕生日をお祝い「久しぶりに会えてうれしかった」
加護亜依「パパさん」「娘」仲良しショットがすてき !69歳誕生日をお祝い「久しぶりに会えてうれしかった」2024年11月15日 12時30分スポーツ報知元「モーニング娘 。」でタレントの加護亜依が15日に2024-11-16愛する人のためなら、なんだってできる「神の遣いの少女は初恋の将軍にすべてを捧ぐ」
「神の遣いの少女は初恋の将軍にすべてを捧ぐ」1巻大きなサイズで見る「神の遣いの少女は初恋の将軍にすべてを捧ぐ」は、雪見桜の小説を原作としたコミカライズ作品。物語は 、神器を操る特別な力を持った“神の遣い2024-11-16
最新评论