China team (white shirt) absent from World Cup once again - Photo: REUTERS
In the past, whenever the Chinese team suffered shocking defeats or lost heavily to powerful teams or shockingly to average opponents, the Chinese press would direct attacks at individuals.
From foreign coaches like Marcelo Lippi, Fabio Cannavaro to even former famous players like Li Tie, Hao Gongb, they are always heavily criticized every time the Chinese team loses.
But in this disastrous defeat, the Chinese press was... fed up with having to say harsh words to Croatian coach, Mr. Branko Ivankovic.
Instead, mainland media made scathing comments about the country's football industry and, more broadly, Chinese sports policy.
The Paper wrote: "This defeat is not surprising. Being able to reach the third round of the World Cup qualifiers is already too lucky. The 0-7 loss to Japan in the opening round is enough to show the team's future.
The defeat to Indonesia only buried the last bit of pride in Chinese football. The World Cup is opening its doors wider than ever to Asia. And that only makes fans feel more pain.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) must of course take the first responsibility. They choose the coach like opening a blind bag. But that is only part of it. Chinese football is like a tree without roots.
The lower leagues can only produce lower-level players. The teams are flashy on the outside, but rotten on the inside. A closed, backward ecosystem cannot nurture this giant tree, so that it can stand firm against the storms."
It can be said that these are very profound criticisms from one of the most popular online newspapers in China.
Meanwhile, Shanghai-based newspaper Guancha expressed pessimism: "This defeat will cause a chain reaction. In the next few years, local players will hardly have any top tournaments to hone their skills. They will even lose the motivation to reach those tournaments after so many defeats."
A commentary on Xinhua News Agency also mentioned Vietnam to point out the problem of Chinese football:
"Let's be honest with China's World Cup chances. We can't even beat Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and many other teams that are considered weak in Asia.
Remember the second qualifying round, we only advanced thanks to the brilliance of a Singaporean goalkeeper (which prevented Thailand from achieving a favorable result, thereby giving the ticket to China). The dream was over from then on."
It can be said that after so many disappointments, the Chinese media has also begun to get tired of criticizing the national football team. Instead of fiercely attacking, they have switched to a sarcastic tone.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bao-chi-trung-quoc-buong-loi-tan-nhan-voi-bong-da-nuoc-nha-20250606131637268.htm
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