China is on the verge of being eliminated from the group stage without a goal for the first time in the Asian Cup history of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Due to the disgraceful result, Chinese soccer fans appealed to 80-year-old veteran Bora Milutinovic (Serbia) to come back. China lost 0-1 in the final third Group A match against Qatar at Khalifa International Stadium in Alaiyan, Qatar, on the 23rd (Korea time).
With two draws and one loss (two points), China ranked third in the group, trailing only Qatar (nine points) and Tajikistan (four points). China can advance to the round of 16 based on its performance in the third place in the remaining five groups, but the possibility remains arithmetic. At the upcoming Asian Cup, 24 teams will participate and play in six groups of four teams. Among the top four teams ranking first, second, and third in each group, the top four teams can advance to the round of 16.
Currently, Indonesia and Bahrain (three points) are already ahead of China, and the third place finishers in the other group may also surpass China’s points, depending on the result of the final match. If China is eliminated from the group league, it will be the first time in 13 years since the Qatar event in 2011. It is even the first time that China has zero goals out.
China, which has shown sluggish performances repeatedly recently, continued to show sluggish performance in this year’s event. It is all the more miserable. Coach Aleksandar Yankovic took part in this year’s event as an extreme defensive soccer team that deployed five defenders. However, the team was not satisfied with both the content and the result.
In the second game against Lebanon, the opponent was lucky to hit the goal twice, avoiding defeat, and lost 0-1 against Qatar, which excluded a large number of its main players from the starting line-up.
In the attack, China failed to score a goal due to its worst goal-getting ability, which failed to take advantage of critical scoring opportunities several times. China has been on the stage for 13 consecutive finals since the 1976 Iran Games, but this is the first time that it has failed to score a goal. 동행복권파워볼
Chinese soccer fans were angry at the frustrating contents and the result, as they demanded Yankovic’s replacement. Immediately after his defeat in Qatar, he expressed frustration with Milutinovic (Serbia), the veteran coach who gave up his leadership career.
Coach Milutinovic, who led China to the 2002 World Cup finals, visited the venue and watched the match between Qatar and China, before meeting with Chinese fans outside the stadium after the match. Chinese fans expressed their dissatisfaction with Chinese soccer as they greeted Coach Milutinovic for more than 10 minutes.
One Chinese fan said, “Please come back as a Chinese coach. Chinese soccer needs you.” Milutinovic just smiled without answering. Meanwhile, Chinese players, who might have to pack their bags with just three games, couldn’t raise their heads due to the humiliating result. After the match against Qatar, the Korean players lined up and quietly left the stadium without answering reporters’ questions.
