China faces elimination threat in World Cup qualifiers as fans voice frustration

"Is this the national team?".

The Chinese national team will play two matches in March as part of the final Asian qualifiers for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. After the away match against Saudi Arabia on the 20th, they will face Australia at home on the 25th. Once again, the shadow of World Cup elimination looms over China.

As of now, China is at the bottom of Group C with 6 points. They are tied on points with 3rd place Indonesia, 4th place Saudi Arabia, and 5th place Bahrain, but they lag significantly behind Bahrain in goal difference (-10 compared to Bahrain's -5). With four matches left, it is difficult to turn around the goal difference.

The remaining schedule includes matches against Saudi Arabia, Australia, Indonesia, and Bahrain in that order. For China, the ideal scenario is to earn some points in this double-header before winning against Indonesia and Bahrain. The one silver lining is that they do not have to face the strongest team in the group, Japan.

If China fails to qualify for the World Cup again, it will mark a staggering sixth consecutive failure to reach the finals. Since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, China has not been able to step onto the World Cup stage even once. They have insisted that this time will be different, but nothing has changed. With their fate riding on the March matches, China has given careful consideration to their training roster.

Branko Ivankovic, the head coach, decided to exclude veteran players, including 1989-born defender Zhang Linpeng, in favor of newer players. Shortly after announcing the roster, Ivankovic noted, "The form of the veteran players is no longer good. It is better for younger players to take their place. They will bring good performances to the national team."

In fact, looking at the roster, goalkeeper Wang Dalei is the only player born in the 1980s. Instead, 11 players born after 2000 made the list. There are even two players born in 2006, Liu Chengyu and Wang Yidong. Liu Chengyu is the striker who could not prevent China's elimination by missing a penalty in the quarterfinals against Saudi Arabia at the Under-20 Asian Cup.

'Sohu' reported, "Surprisingly, among the 32 players summoned for training by Ivankovic, 11 are born in the 2000s. Wang Yidong and Liu Chengyu, who were key strikers for the China national team at the U-20 Asian Cup, are also included. Ivankovic has relatively successfully achieved a generational change. Players like Zhang Linpeng, Wu Xi, Tan Long, and Liang have been completely excluded from the national team."

Among them, what Chinese football is most looking forward to is the naturalized players. Midfielder Hou Yongyong, who was the top scorer in the Norwegian 2nd division for the 2024 season, has received a call-up from coach Ivankovic. He has no experience in official matches yet but gained attention for his performances last year.

Additionally, striker Oscar Mariatu from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and attacking midfielder Serginho, born in Brazil, are also on the verge of naturalization. Both are players that China is focusing on for naturalization efforts and are expected to officially join the national team soon.

Chinese fans hope these two players will take the national team to the World Cup in North and Central America. Sohu noted, "Serginho can organize the play, and Oscar has explosiveness. They can be referred to as China's 'dual core driving force.'"

However, not all opinions are positive. Since Serginho's last match experience was in November of last year and Oscar's was in August, it's uncertain how well they have maintained their match fitness. Chinese 'Xina Sports' explained, "Most of the players on the national team roster lack match experience."

The media pointed out, "Most of the players have not played in the Chinese first division. Many of the newly selected players have low participation rates at their clubs," and added, "The defense, featuring goalkeeper Wang Dalei and veteran defenders Zhu Tianjie and Zhang Guangtai, is solid. The problem is that the defensive midfielder positions are filled with players who sit on the bench in the league, but they were selected for the national team."

Furthermore, they expressed concern, saying, "It is a problem that they will face stronger teams like Australia and Saudi Arabia in the two March matches. It is difficult for defensive midfielders or all players to be in peak condition. It is contradictory to expect players who are not performing well in the league to perform well in the national team."

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