China team needs to recover from scandal, still has chance at Asian Cup

The Chinese national team continued to disappoint in their opening match against Tajikistan on the evening of January 13th in the 2023 Asian Cup, being held to a 0-0 draw by their opponents.

Notably, Tajikistan is ranked 106th in the world , 27 places lower than Aleksandr Jankovic's team. However, Tajikistan was the more outstanding team with 20 shots on goal throughout the match, dominating the Chinese team.

Although Xu Xin and his teammates staged a comeback in the final 20 minutes with dangerous scoring opportunities, including Zhu Chenjie's goal which was disallowed by the referee in the 80th minute after consulting VAR, overall, this was still a below-expected performance from the Chinese national team.

The Chinese team (in orange jerseys) was outmatched by Tajikistan.

In the situation where Zhu Chenjie put the ball into the net against Tajikistan, he scored from a legitimate position, without handling the ball or colliding with the opposing goalkeeper. However, the referee consulted slow-motion video and determined that Jiang Guangtai, another Chinese player, had committed a foul by obstructing the Tajikistan defender from performing a defensive action.

In the situation where he blocked the player, Jiang Guangtai was in an offside position (standing behind the Tajikistan goalkeeper, only one defender ahead), meaning the referee's decision to disallow the goal was correct.

The Chinese team's morale plummeted after their goal was disallowed, and this is a dangerous sign for Coach Jankovic and his players.

Chinese football is rocked by the bribery scandal involving former head coach Li Tie. In a documentary on anti-corruption broadcast on CCTV (China's state television), Li Tie revealed that he paid nearly $421,000 in bribes to secure his position as head coach of the Chinese national team and helped fix matches while coaching clubs.

Tajikistan played impressively.

According to the documentary, the 46-year-old former football star asked Wuhan Zall FC – where Li Tie was the coach – to intervene on his behalf with the Chinese Football Association (CFA), promising a reward. The club paid 2 million yuan (US$281,000) as a bribe to Chen Xuyuan, who was then the CFA chairman and is currently under investigation for corruption.

Li Tie also stated that he personally paid a bribe of 1 million yuan to the CFA Secretary-General. He then reciprocated by calling up four players from the Wuhan club to the national team, even though they did not meet the eligibility criteria.

This scandal is a major blow to Chinese football, which has suffered from instability in recent years as the national league (CSL) has deteriorated, investment has slowed down, leading to the departure of numerous star players. The Chinese national team has also performed inconsistently, being eliminated from many major tournaments.

The 2023 Asian Cup was expected to be an event for Chinese football to "heal." Coach Jankovic's team was in a relatively easy group, with only Qatar considered strong, while Tajikistan and Lebanon were considered weaker. However, the draw against Tajikistan once again showed that the Chinese national team still has too many weaknesses.

The standings in Group A after the first round.

In the next round, the Chinese team will face Lebanon, while Qatar will play Tajikistan. With hosts Qatar having a clear chance of winning, the Chinese team must defeat Lebanon. If they secure all three points, Xu Xin and his teammates will be in a more comfortable position, needing only one point in the final match to advance. Even a loss would still leave them with a good chance, as being among the best third-placed teams still guarantees qualification. However, a loss would significantly increase their difficulties.

Therefore, the match against Lebanon will determine the direction of the Chinese national team in this tournament, or even the fate of Chinese football in the near future. Coach Jankovic and his players need a boost to see the dawn after the darkness.

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