A miracle did not happen. The Chinese national soccer team, which had been waiting for the result with a faint hope, quickly exited the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar.
The Chinese national soccer team, led by Aleksandar Jankovic (52), confirmed its elimination from the group stage at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup on the 23rd (Korea time). China, which lost 0-1 to Qatar, which turned its rotation member in the last Group A match earlier, had already finished its group stage with three games of 0 wins, two draws and one loss (two points).
The number of cases was limited from the outset. The first and second ranking teams in each group will advance to the tournament, and the top four teams among the third-ranked teams in each group will advance to the round of 16. Prior to the final Group A match between Syria and India, the third-ranked teams in each group were Syria (two games with one point), Palestine (two games with one point), Indonesia (two games with three), Bahrain (two games with three points) and Oman (two games with one point). For China, Syria should have at least tied India.
However, Syria defeated India 1-0 in the final Group B match of the Asian Cup held at Al-Kor Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar on Sunday, completely dampening China's hopes. As a result, Syria has four points ahead of China with two points along with Indonesia and Bahrain, and secured at least fourth place among the group's third-ranked teams, making it to the round of 16 teams for the first time ever. Oman, ranking third in Group F, will lead China in multiple points with two points even if it ties with Kyrgyzstan in the final match. Even if Oman loses, Kyrgyzstan will have three points, and China will not be able to advance.
This is the darkest history for Chinese soccer. China has never had a single win as it participated in the 1976 Iran Asian Cup. Moreover, China, which is ranked 79th (ranking just before the Asian Cup) in the same group as Qatar (ranked 61st in the world), Lebanon (ranked 104th), and Tajikistan (ranked 109th), never imagined that it would not have a single win.
However, the Chinese soccer team showed the bottom line. The team had 0-0 draws with Tajikistan and Lebanon, which seemed to be the sacrifice of one win, and lost 0-1 to Qatar, which mobilized a large number of rotation members, recording the humiliating history of no win in 48 years. It was also the first time that the Chinese team failed to score a single goal in the group league since its participation in the Asian Cup. Cena, who broke the news, lamented, "I wrote a shameful record."
They say it is not surprising in China. China had already come from behind to lose 1-2 in a match against the Hong Kong national soccer team (150th), which was an exhibition match just before the Asian Cup, revealing its anxiety. It was the first time in 29 years that Hong Kong had a win over China at the now-defunct Diners' Cup in 1995, and the first time in 39 years that it had a 2-1 win at a preliminary match for the 1986 FIFA Mexico World Cup held in Beijing, China in May 1985, even if it was decided by a penalty shootout.
At the time, Sina Dotcom said, "Fans who were hoping a single stroke of hope for the national soccer team after the draw with Malaysia were completely devastated by the defeat. How can they imagine a victory over Lebanon, Tajikistan and Qatar when they lost to Hong Kong ranked 150th? No one has high expectations for the Asian Cup. I wonder if the current national team will break the lower limit." Chinese netizens also showed impressive reactions, such as "China will not be surprised if it loses to anyone" and "Hong Kong and Bhutan ranked 182nd in the world have one win and one loss against each other, and I wonder if China can beat Bhutan." Their expectations then came true three weeks later.
After confirming the elimination of the group stage, Sina Dotcom said, "China was the first team to call up players and take a long training session among all teams participating in the Asian Cup, but the result was disappointing and poured cold water on the fans."
Chinese soccer, which once enjoyed the joy of winning the runner-up prize at the Asian Cup, seems to have completely disappeared now. After finishing second at the 1984 Asian Cup in Singapore, China steadily advanced to the quarterfinals and won the second runner-up prize at the 2004 Asian Cup, trailing behind Japan. At that time, the result was runner-up, but the team scored an equalizer at a 0-1 deficit against Japan, showing promising performance.
Since then, however, Chinese soccer has seen a downturn. The team was eliminated in the group matches of ASEAN in 2007 and Qatar in 2011, and advanced to the quarterfinals of Australia in 2015 and 2019. The team sought to regain its reputation in Qatar, which it visited for the first time in 12 years, but as it accepted the worst report card ever, it was forced to face strong criticism after returning to Korea.
Players seem to be frustrated by the desperate situation. "Chinese soccer is completely lagging behind. Whichever team we play now, we are not in an advantageous position. All teams are making progress, but we are the only ones who are stopped," said Weishao (29), who participated as a winger for the upcoming national team.