China will struggle to qualify for 2026 Fifa World Cup as ‘youth not good enough,’ says former captain Feng Xiaoting
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China’s miserable run of form in World Cup qualifying will continue for the next several years because the country’s young football players “are not good enough”, former captain Feng Xiaoting has said.
The men’s senior national team failed to come anywhere close to reaching this year’s tournament in Qatar, winning just one of their 10 matches, and that was a narrow 3-2 win over perennial losers Vietnam.
China, who finished second from bottom of their group in the final round of Asian qualifying, have played at the World Cup just once, when they were knocked out in the group stage in 2002.
“For sure, our next campaign will be more difficult, because our youth are not good enough,” Feng said. “If they are not among the top four in Asia, you cannot expect good performances from them.”
His winless tenure so far has included a humiliating 3-1 defeat to bottom team Vietnam. China’s only victory came against Vietnam in October.
Li said it could take generations to revive the country’s dwindling football scene after the game.
