news

on september 5, beijing time, in the first round of group c of the 2026 men's world cup asian qualifiers, the chinese team played against the japanese team away. in the end, the chinese national football team lost to the japanese team 0-7.

this match created the biggest score loss in the history of the chinese men's football team against japan, the most goals conceded in a single world cup qualifier, and the biggest score loss in a world cup qualifier. previously, the biggest loss of the chinese men's football team against japan was limited to a net loss of 2 goals. in this match, the 7-goal defeat significantly "refreshed" the record of losses in the head-to-head match.

on september 10, beijing time, the chinese national football team will face its second opponent in the third stage (round of 18) of the world cup asian qualifiers. the saudi men's football team, which drew 1:1 with indonesia in the first home game, is also facing tremendous pressure in this campaign.

before the game, the chinese national football team players expressed their hope to let go of their burdens, regain their confidence, and play a game that would satisfy the chinese people.

player xie wenneng: "let's encourage everyone's morale and help them regain their confidence."

player liu dianzuo: "under the leadership of the head coach, we have also done some tactical training, and we also hope to let go of the burden and play a kind of football that satisfies ourselves and the chinese people."

on the 9th, saudi coach mancini and player shehri attended the pre-match press conference. shehri said: "this is a difficult game. we must go all out to win."

china men's football world cup qualifiers round of 18 schedule

round 1: japan vs. china, september 5, 2024

second round: china vs saudi arabia on september 10, 2024

round 3: australia vs china, october 10, 2024

round 4: china vs indonesia on october 15, 2024

round 5: bahrain vs china on november 14, 2024

round 6: china vs. japan, november 19, 2024

round 7: saudi arabia vs china on march 20, 2025

round 8: china vs australia on march 25, 2025

round 9: june 5, 2025 indonesia vs china

round 10: june 10, 2025 china vs. bahrain

[source: jiupai news, china football team official blog, migu football, china football association official website]