China Defeats Indonesia In World Cup Qualifier

The Chinese men’s national football team exhaled on Tuesday night after breaking a four-game losing streak in World Cup qualifying as they claimed a 2-1 away win against Indonesia in Qingdao. The win helps to put China back into contention for the next round of Asian qualifiers of the 2026 World Cup and take the pressure off its beleaguered head coach Aleksandar Jankovic.

China went into the match with nothing to lose after a poor start in the qualifiers with losses to South Korea, Iran and Uzbekistan. The hosts had a lion’s share of the ball possession in front of a charged gallery of over 37 thousand fans at the Qingdao Mahayina Stadium but only managed few rushed shots on Indonesia’s organized defense line on the eve of the break.

It would take the team up to the 43 rd minute to break the deadlock when the playmaker Wu Lei capitalized on a pass to sent a fine shot that was out of reach of the Indonesian goalkeeper. The goal seen a number of elated Chinese players and fans erupt with joy because the recent string of poor performances had been an issue of concern for the Chinese football team.

The Indonesian team further shocked the hosts deep into the second half with a beautiful equalizer from a free kick taking the home side’s breath away. However, China was also equallysolid to force the issue and the equalizer came in the 78 th minute from the boot ofmidfielder Zhang Xizhe in a powerful shot from distance.

The victory took China to the third rank in their qualifying group meaning that their hopes of obtaining any of the two places which would automatically qualify a team to the next round remained alive. In the press conference after the match Coach Jankovic said that he enjoyed his team’s fighting spirit in the match but agree that they are far from perfect.

Chinese football officials will be glad to see that the team was able to bounce back and gain some much needed victories in this period of turmoil that has called for massive overhaul of football development system in the country. The national team’s failures have been a thorn in the side of fans and policy makers who have hoped for years that China could become a footballing super power.

The victory against Indonesia will give a boost to their morale but the going will get even tougher for China in the upcoming qualifiers. They staged a heroic fight in the recent home fixtures but they will be facing their biggest test in the Thai and the Malaysians, both of which are schedule to be played in the coming months away from home and the two teams would well prove the deciders of the Formulation twelve qualifiers campaign.

For now, however, Chinese football can relish in a small victory and pray that this win will be the tide turning point for a China World Cup team. Newly energised and armed with the support of their fans China will seek to make their move for a place in the next stage in the upcoming months.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back To Top