In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited a company that makes humanoid robots. There, he came up with an idea to fix the country’s bad boys football team.

"Can we get robots to join the team?" Xi Jinping said on Zhiyuan Robotics website.

advertise

Maybe it's too late. If China fails to beat Indonesia on Thursday, China will qualify for the World Cup. Even victory may delay departure.

What's the problem? China has 1.4 billion people, the world's second largest economy, winning 40 Olympic gold medals in Paris last year and winning the United States. Why can't 11 elite male football players be found?

How football explains China

The government touches on all aspects of Chinese life. Top-down control has helped China become the largest manufacturer of steel, from electronics to shoes.

It tried to run football, but strict governance didn't work.

advertise

"Football reflects social and political issues in China," Zhang Feng, a Chinese journalist and commentator, told the Associated Press. "This is not a free society. It has no team-level trust and allows players to pass the ball to each other without worrying."

Zhang believes that politics has stagnated the growth of football. This has added pressure since Xi Jinping is a big fan and promised to resume games at home. Zhang said that football is a world language with "its own grammar" that China will not speak.

Zhang added: “In China, the more important the leaders pay to football, the more nervous society becomes, the more power the bureaucrats gain, the more corrupt they become.”

XI Jinping’s Dream – or a Nightmare?

advertise

After China beat Thailand 2-1 in 2023, Xi Jinping joked with then-Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. "I think luck is an important part of it," Xi Jinping said.

The consensus is clear. There are too few high-quality players in China at the grassroots level, the Communist Party has too much political intervention, and there is too much corruption in local games.

Wang Xiaolei, another famous Chinese commentator, believes that the top-down governance conflict between football and China is focused on rote memorization.

"What is our best? Doctrine," Wang wrote in his blog last year. "But football cannot be dogmatic. We are at the worst? Inspiring creativity and fostering passion."

advertise

Football is bigger than China

The latest chapter in China's poor men's football history is a 7-0 loss with Japan's geopolitical rival Japan last year.

"Though historic hostility, people are not surprised, but people are not surprised," said Scotsman Cameron Wilson.

China only has one man's World Cup qualification. It was 2002, when it didn't score and lost all three games. Football's governing body FIFA ranked China 94th, second only to Syria, which was war-torn, and ahead of Benin No. 95.

advertise

For the point: Iceland is the smallest country to enter the World Cup. Its latest population is estimated to be close to 400,000.

The website Soccerway tracks global football matches and does not show individual Chinese players in the top European leagues. The best player in the national team is forward Wu Lei, who played for Espanyol for three seasons at La Liga in Spain. The majority owner of the club.

The 2026 World Cup football team will have 48 teams, a significant increase in 32 games in 2022, but China still cannot do it.

If China loses to Indonesia, China will be eliminated. Even if it wins, China must beat Bahrain on June 10 in an effort to advance to Asia's next qualifying stage.

advertise

Outsiders think Chinese football

British Rowan Simons spent nearly 40 years in China and gained a reputation as TV reviews in the Chinese Premier League. He also wrote the 2008 book "Bamboomen Pass".

Over the past decade, China has benefited from the reform of bringing football into schools. But Simmons believes that football culture develops from volunteers, civil society and club organizations, and in China, none of this is thriving in China, because they may be challengers to communist rule.

"In China, when the kids are 12 or 13 years old, it is called a cliff when they go to school," he said. "Parents may allow their kids to participate in sports when they are young, but once it is involved in middle school, academic pressure starts, like Sport like Sport."

advertise

To be fair, the Chinese women's team performed better than the men. China finished second in the Women's World Cup in 1999, but the difficulties of men's game faded as European teams surged. Spain won the 2023 Women's World Cup. China was eliminated early and was defeated 6-1 by England in the team match.

China has successfully targeted Olympics, some of which are relatively obscure, not just repetitive training, not creativity. Olympic sports teams like football offer only one medal. So, like many countries, China focuses on sports with multiple medals. Take China as an example, it is diving, table tennis and weightlifting.

“For young people, there is a value – the test is good,” commentator and reporter Zhang said. "If you only play football 1,000 times, China will."

Corrupt face

advertise

Starting in January 2020, national team coach Li Tie was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for bribery and competition. Other top administrators have also been charged with corruption.

The transplant also expanded to the domestic Premier League. The club spent millions (perhaps billions), which was on many state-owned enterprises backed by foreign talent before real estate developers collapsed during the housing boom.

The child of the poster is Guangzhou Everland. The eight-time Super League champion, once coached by Italy's Marcello Lippi, was expelled from the league and disbanded earlier this year, unable to repay the debt.

Zhang said businessmen invested in professional football teams as a "political tribute" and quoted Hui Ka-Yan. The embattled real estate developer funded the Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club and used the football to win favor from politicians.

advertise

Real estate giant Evergrande has accumulated debt, reported at $300 billion, reflecting China's abused real estate sector and overall economic health.

“Throughout the competition, China’s failures at the international level and in corruption are factors that keep parents away from getting their children involved,” Simons said.

"Parents look at what is going on and question whether they want their children to be involved. It's sad and frustrating."

___

Wade reported on Tang in Tokyo and Washington.

___

AP Football: