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Agence France-Presse

Reuters

Chinese football fans and media rounded on the national team on Friday after they suffered fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in World Cup qualifying.
President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a chastening evening in Saitama on Thursday.
The humiliation against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012.
Wataru Endo and Kaoru Mitoma scored in the first half, while Takumi Minamino scored twice in the second half with others from Daizen Maeda, Junya Ito and Takefusa Kubo.
China are still alive in the group despite the desperate start, but Oriental Sports Daily said: “When the taste of bitterness reaches its extreme, all that is left is numbness.”
The paper in Shanghai said that Chinese football had hit “rock bottom” and called it a “disastrous defeat”.
It partly pointed the finger at China’s Croatian boss Branko Ivankovic, calling his “incompetence … a contributing factor to this crushing defeat”.

The hammering was hotly discussed on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with the hashtag ‘National team loses to Japan 0-7’ viewed 480 million times as of Friday morning.
“We still don’t know what the Japanese goalkeeper looks like after a 90-minute game,” said one user.
Another went as far as to call for the team to be “disbanded”.
“There is no point in spending the most money on this useless project.”
Writing on Weibo, former national team player Fan Zhiyi – who featured at China’s only World Cup finals appearance, in 2002 – said: “When there’s a gap in ability and you lose, it’s acceptable.
“What’s hard for football fans to accept is losing like this.
“If it weren’t far from here, I would have really jumped into the Huangpu river,” Fan said, referring to Shanghai’s main waterway, in a widely circulated video.
“We can accept that you lose to Japan, but it’s really bad to let the opponents score so easily.”
Ivankovic guided Oman to a shock 1-0 win over Japan in their first game of the final round of qualifiers for Qatar 2022 but had no hope of repeating the feat as the world number 24 hosts ran riot at Saitama Stadium.
“Japan is not only one of Asia’s strongest teams but also a world-class team,” Ivankovic said.
“We specifically focused on defence during our prematch preparations, but we conceded too many goals during the game, and some of those should not have happened.

“It was a tough match, and as a coach, this was the most difficult night for me.”
Ivankovic has little time to restore his team’s battered confidence before they host Saudi Arabia in Dalian on Tuesday.
China had squeezed into the decisive third round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup only thanks to a superior head-to-head record over Thailand.
In other results in China’s World Cup qualifying pool, Group C, Bahrain stunned hosts Australia 1-0, while Saudi Arabia drew 1-1 at home against Indonesia.
Elsewhere, South Korea were jeered off the Seoul World Cup Stadium pitch after a 0-0 draw with Palestine in Group B, Iraq beat Qatar 1-0, and Jordan and Kuwait played out a 1-1 draw in Amman.
In Group A, Asian Cup winners Qatar lost 3-1 at home to the United Arab Emirates, Iran beat visitors Kyrgyzstan 1-0, while Uzbekistan also claimed three points with a 1-0 win over North Korea in Tashkent.


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Fifa World Cup 2026

World Cup 2025 qualifiers: Chinese fans savage team after ‘disastrous’ 7-0 Japan thrashing

A Chinese fan reacts after his team’s “numbing” 7-0 loss to Asia’s top-ranked team in Saitama, Japan. Photo: Xinhua

China coach Branko Ivankovic and his players face their fans after the loss. Photo: EPA-EFE

Japan’s Takumi Minamino (8) scores the team’s third goal in the second half of the World Cup qualifier. Photo: Kyodo

World Cup qualifiers: Wataru Endo warns Japan of dangers in Asian zone, starting with China

Japan midfielder and skipper Wataru Endo says he has to “manage the risks” coming from China’s attackers on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

China’s Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic has overseen wins over Japan with Oman and Iran. Photo: AFP

Japan welcome back Junya Ito (left), who has just been cleared of sexual assault allegations. Photo: AFP

Palestinians face one of Asia’s toughest tests to start third round of World Cup qualifying

Palestine coach Makram Daboub speaks to his players during a training session in Doha. Photo: Reuters

Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min will lead his side’s attack against Palestine. Photo: EPA-EFE

World Cup 2026 in US, Canada and Mexico within reach as Asian qualifying ramps up

Skipper Son Heung-Min will undoubtedly be South Korea’s biggest threat when they take on Palestine, who are making their debut at this qualifying stage. Photo: Xinhua

Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma looks back to his best and returns to the Japan squad after a long injury break. Photo: EPA-EFE

China’s Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic (right) says Japan will have a fight on their hands against his team. Photo: Xinhua

World Cup 2026 qualifiers: Indonesia lean on Dutch-born contingent in quest for return

Indonesia’s Amsterdam-born midfielder Thom Haye (right) celebrates after scoring the first goal in their 2-0 win over the Philippines, with teammate Asnawi Mangkualam. Photo: Reuters

Indonesia’s South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong will take the country’s strongest-ever squad into the qualifying round. Photo: AFP

Indonesia’s first match on Thursday is away to Saudi Arabia, who beat Argentina at the Qatar World Cup. Photo: Xinhua

Hong Kong’s footballers finally win, Matt Orr scores at last – despite state of Fiji pitch

Wong Wai aims a shot during Hong Kong’s convincing victory over Solomon Islands. Photo: HKFA

Juninho steers a header goalwards during Hong Kong’s victory over Solomon Islands. Photo: HKFA

Assistant coach Wolfgang Luisser handed debuts to three players at HFC Bank Stadium. Photo: HKFA

Sport

Football

The hammering was hotly discussed on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with one paper placing blame on coach Ivankovic’s ‘incompetence’.
