“World Cup qualifiers? We won’t even qualify, we’ll be relegated” — A historically bleak reality... “There is nowhere left to fall” as public outrage erupts in China

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The decline shows no end. A state of emergency has been declared for Chinese football, which has plummeted to 96th in the FIFA rankings following a shocking three-game losing streak and a dismal record of zero goals scored and nine conceded.

Chinese media outlet Sohu.com reported on the 8th (Korean time), “The Chinese national team is in a critical crisis, having suffered three consecutive defeats in friendly matches without scoring a single goal,” adding, “If they fall any further from here, competing for a World Cup final ticket may become impossible.”

Citing a report by global media outlet ESPN, the outlet explained, “The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is pushing to launch a new Asian Nations League and link it with qualification for the World Cup and the Asian Cup,” noting, “This means the door to World Cup qualifiers could be completely shut for lower-ranked teams.”

According to the AFC’s plan, member nations will be divided into three divisions to compete. Only the top 18 teams in the first division, equivalent to the top league, can vie for World Cup final qualification. Teams in the two lower leagues must be promoted to the top league through a promotion and relegation system to gain an opportunity to challenge for the World Cup.

The tournament, which will first be held as a pilot format in 2028–2029, will divide teams into 18 in the first division, 18 in the second division, and 11 in the third division based on qualifier results. The 18 first-division teams will be split into three groups of six, with the top two teams from each group (six teams total) advancing directly to the 2030 World Cup finals. The remaining four highest-ranked teams will compete in a playoff, where the top two advance directly, and the third-place team enters an intercontinental playoff.

Consequently, the top eight teams in the first division will determine the champion through home-and-away tournaments, with the top and bottom two teams in each division undergoing promotion and relegation after every tournament. The 2032–2033 tournament will also see only the 18th first-division teams compete in a full league, where the top six teams advance directly to the 2034 World Cup, while ranks 7 through 10 will compete for the remaining two final tickets and an intercontinental playoff spot.

The problem is China’s current standing, which is plummeting. After recording a dismal 1 win and 3 losses in recent international match days, China suffered consecutive defeats against Palestine and Tajikistan, both of whom were ranked lower than them, causing them to drop five places to 96th in the latest FIFA rankings. Their ranking within Asia has also slipped to 15th. They are barely hanging on at 18th, the cutoff for the first division, putting them in crisis of being relegated to the second division and having their World Cup challenge completely blocked if they perform poorly again.

China’s recent trend is truly a series of self-destruction. Following a 0-3 crushing defeat against New Zealand on the 27th of last month, they suffered a 0-5 heavy loss to Palestine, ranked 92nd in FIFA, at home in front of over 50,000 spectators on the 2nd. In the final match of the 2026 CFA Chongqing International Football Invitation Tournament held in Chongqing on the 6th, they were defeated 0-1 by Tajikistan, recording a three-game losing streak along with the humiliation of zero goals scored and nine conceded across three matches.

The quality of play was also pathetic. China conceded the opening goal after a poor performance, and their star striker and troublemaker Wei Shao was sent off for accumulating cautions after using an elbow, leading to self-destruction.

Local fans’ anger is out of control. On Sohu.com, comments exploded criticizing Wei Shao, stating, “Wei Shao is a cancerous presence in the national team. His eyes were rotten from the start, as if he deliberately wanted to get sent off,” “How can a player with such character be selected for the national team and even wear the captain’s armband?” and “Did he get sent off on purpose to force the dismissal of coach Xiao Zai?”

Criticism also poured out toward coach Xiao Zai, with comments such as, “He has only big desires but no ability whatsoever, and lacks the courage to take responsibility. He should resign immediately,” “It was a comedy from the moment the Football Association put Xiao Zai in charge. Even if you handed them a second-division team, they would do better than this team,” and “Stop the international embarrassment and disband the national team immediately.”

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original