China team powerless against Indonesia. Photo: AP |
Yesterday, China suffered a 0-1 defeat against Indonesia in the 9th match of the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. With this result, China settled at the bottom of Group C and was officially eliminated. Notably, this was also the first defeat of the Chinese team against Indonesia in 68 years. Therefore, the media as well as football fans of the billion-people country were extremely disappointed and angry with coach Branko Ivankovic's team.
Sina severely criticized coach Branko Ivankovic: "The head coach made no less than 3 fatal mistakes in this match. This is an unforgettable shame for the Chinese team." In addition, Sina also questioned why the Chinese Football Association did not fire coach Branko Ivankovic. Since taking office in February 2024, the Croatian coach has only helped the Chinese team win 3/13 matches (draw 2, lose 8).
Before defeating China and qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, the Indonesian team fired coach Shin Tae-yong and appointed Patrick Kluivert. This shows that Indonesia has a greater determination and ambition to qualify for the 2026 World Cup than China.
Similar to Sina, a series of other Chinese media channels expressed their disappointment with the national team. In addition, Chinese fans flooded social media to call on the Chinese Football Association to… disband the national team.
One person said bitterly: “The opponents are getting stronger and stronger, but the Chinese team is going backwards. Where are we in Asia? When the number of places is increasing, the Chinese team is still eliminated early. It is hard to accept.”
Another wrote: “The Chinese team no longer has any stars to look up to, and no longer has the team spirit needed to win. It is time to disband this team.”
In addition, many people believe that China should not waste more money on the national men's football team. In fact, this is not the first time that Chinese fans have called for the national team to be disbanded. Last September, a similar wave occurred after China lost 0-7 to Japan, also under coach Branko Ivankovic.
A Phi
Source: https://tienphong.vn/trung-quoc-het-co-hoi-du-world-cup-2026-cdv-doi-giai-tan-dtqg-post1748839.tpo
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