[Correspondent Diary] The Noisy Chinese Football Scene

China Football FIFA Ranking 78th, Asia Ranking 11th Sparks Criticism
Interim Appointment of U-23 Coach as Head Coach of China National Team... Expectations for Performance Against Korea and Japan Matches

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] The FIFA ranking of the Chinese men's soccer team is 78th. In Asia, the ranking is 11th. Compared to the end of last year, the world ranking dropped by 4 places, and the Asian ranking fell by 3 places. As the FIFA ranking was announced, criticism surged. It is said to be the worst performance in the last four years. Inside China, there was even ridicule that this ranking might be the highest rank within the next four years. The Chinese soccer world is in turmoil.

Photo by Sinamang Capture

The decline in China's soccer ranking was already predicted in February. On February 1, the Chinese World Cup team lost 1-3 to the Vietnam team in the final Asian Group B qualifiers held at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam. Losing to the Vietnam team led by coach Park Hang-seo, China had to give up the dream of qualifying for the World Cup finals on its own. Vietnam's current FIFA ranking is 97th. At that time, the People's Daily reported that it was the first time in 62 years that Chinese soccer lost to Vietnam, and that it was a match they should not have lost. The final qualifying record of the Chinese team for the Qatar World Cup was last place with 1 win, 3 draws, and 6 losses.

Chinese media such as Pengpai pointed out that although the '2022 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup)' is scheduled for next month, the Chinese Football Association has not even been able to coordinate the schedule of the Chinese professional league (Super League).

Chinese media reported that Japan formed its East Asian Cup team with players from the J-League, and South Korea also selected a squad centered on K-League players. Both South Korea and Japan formed their teams with 1.5 to 2nd tier players excluding overseas players. They sarcastically noted that the match results between China and South Korea, and China and Japan, are not difficult to predict.

China originally planned to send an under-23 (U-23) team to the East Asian Cup in September to prepare for the Hangzhou Asian Games. However, the Asian Games were postponed by one year, causing disruption to the plan. Since the strength of South Korea and Japan would significantly decrease, sending the U-23 players as is would make the results too predictable. The Chinese Football Association took an emergency measure by appointing coach Yankovic, the U-23 team coach, as the interim coach of the East Asian Cup team. The problem lies in player selection for the East Asian Cup team. The Chinese professional clubs and Super League schedule have not been coordinated, delaying the formation of the national team roster.

Chinese media are supporting coach Yankovic. They say the strongest team must be formed to face South Korea and Japan in the East Asian Cup. Furthermore, if the Chinese national team achieves good results against South Korea and Japan, the atmosphere is building that coach Yankovic should be officially appointed as the national team coach.

Despite astronomical investments, Chinese soccer has not achieved significant results in international competitions so far. It is doubtful whether the Chinese team led by interim coach Yankovic can produce good (?) results against South Korea and Japan in the East Asian Cup. This tournament includes South Korea, Japan, China, and Hong Kong. Personally, I am more interested in the match between China and Hong Kong scheduled for July 27.