SOCCER/ China coach laments ‘most difficult night’ after 7-0 loss to Japan

REUTERS

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China national team coach Branko Ivankovic reacts during the World Cup qualifying match against Japan at Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan, Sept. 5, 2024. (REUTERS)

China coach Branko Ivankovic rued the toughest night of his career after his team slumped to a record 7-0 loss to Japan in a World Cup qualifier.

The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012.

Ivankovic guided Oman to a shock 1-0 win over Japan in their first game of the final round of qualifiers for Qatar 2022 but had no hope of repeating the feat as the world number 24 hosts ran riot at Saitama Stadium.

“Japan is not only one of Asia’s strongest teams but also a world class team,” Ivankovic said in comments published by Xinhua news agency.

“We specifically focused on defense during our pre-match preparations, but we conceded too many goals during the game, and some of those should not have happened.

“It was a tough match, and as a coach, this was the most difficult night for me.”

It was also among the most difficult nights for Chinese soccer fans who tore into the team on social media.

Former China captain Fan Zhiyi said it was too easy for Japan to score after the Blue Samurai netted five second-half goals.

“If it weren’t far from here, I would have really jumped into the Huangpu river,” Fan said, referring to Shanghai’s main waterway, in a widely circulated video.

“We can accept that you lose to Japan, but it’s really bad to let the opponents score so easily.”

Ivankovic has little time to restore his team’s battered confidence before they host Saudi Arabia in Dalian on Tuesday.

China has qualified for the World Cup only once in 2002, when they lost all three of their matches by a combined nine goals in the tournament co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

Fans and the nation’s leaders have long bemoaned the team’s failure to return to the global showpiece.

Ivankovic’s predecessor Aleksandar Janković was sacked in February after failing to guide China into the knockout stage of the Asian Cup in Qatar.

Fans have long blamed corruption in China’s soccer governance for the team’s underperformance.

A string of senior officials in the Chinese Football Association have been jailed this year for taking bribes, including former vice president Li Yuyi, state media reported last month.

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