Chinese football suffered a complete defeat to Australia due to a mistake by the 'living legend' goalkeeper.

The Chinese national football team, led by head coach Ivan Brankovic, lost 0-2 to Australia in the eighth match of Group C of the 2026 FIFA North and Central American World Cup Asian qualifiers held at Hangzhou Sports Park in Hangzhou, China, on the 25th (Korean time).

With this defeat, China failed to bounce back. China remains stuck at 2 wins, 6 losses, and 6 points, failing to escape from the bottom.

In the 7 games played so far, China achieved victories against Indonesia at home and Bahrain in an away game, but lost all the others.

China faced Australia with a front two of Zhang Yuning and Wei Shihao. In the midfield were Xu Haoyang, Huang Zhengwei, Xie Wonnen, and Chao Yongjing, while the back four consisted of Li Lei, Zhang Shenglong, Han Fengfei, and Yang Zhixiang. The goalkeeper was Wang Dalai.

Australia started with a 3-4-3 formation. Matthew Ryan took the goalkeeping position. The back three consisted of Cameron Burgess, Milos Degenek, and Jason Geria. The four midfielders were Aziz Behich, Ryan Tighe Irvin, and Lewis Miller. The Chonbang front three were made up of Beluphilai, Martin Boyle, and Brandon Borello.

Despite overwhelming support from home fans, China allowed the first goal. In the 16th minute of the first half, a ball the Chinese defense failed to clear was shot successfully by Irvin with his left foot, giving Australia a 1-0 lead.

Having succeeded in taking the initiative, Australia was also fortunate. In the 29th minute of the first half, Australia had a right-foot shot from Beluphilai heading straight for the goal, but Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalai cracked.

China prepared for a turnaround through substitutions. However, Australia's defense was solid. Even with naturalized players brought in, China fiercely contested against Australia.

However, China finished the match without scoring a consolation goal, failing to add any points.

Meanwhile, the Asian third qualifying round consists of 18 teams divided into three groups of six countries each. The top 1-2 teams from each group secure a spot in the main event. Teams placing 3rd-4th advance to the fourth qualifying round to challenge for a main event ticket again. The 5th-6th placed teams are eliminated.

China must at least finish in the 3rd-4th places to have a hope of qualifying for the main event since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.

[OSEN]