Chinese President Xi Jinping has suggested that China’s victory over Thailand was lucky.
The South China Morning Post reported on a conversation Xi Jinping had with Thai Prime Minister Theta Thaugsin on the sidelines of APEC on Monday (Nov. 19). After hearing about China’s victory over Thailand in the World Cup qualifiers, Xi said, “I think there was a lot of luck involved. I have no confidence in the level of our national team. There are many ups and downs.”
The South China Morning Post reported, “President Xi Jinping, a self-described soccer fan, has said in the past that he dreams of China hosting and winning the World Cup one day. His ambition to develop the Chinese national team into a global powerhouse has not come to fruition. Chinese soccer has been embroiled in anti-corruption allegations, with a number of key figures, including former national team coach Li Tie, being investigated or indicted. President Xi Jinping once took a keen interest in the development of Chinese soccer, with Chinese Super League clubs investing astronomical sums of money and signing world-class players, but this has not translated into an improvement in the performance of the Chinese national team.
China is in Group C alongside South Korea in the second round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 North American World Cup. The Chinese are coming off a 2-1 upset win over Thailand in their first match of the second round of qualifying on Sept. 16. South Korea defeated Singapore 5-0 in the first match of the qualifiers. South Korea and China will meet in Shenzhen, China, on Sept. 21 for the second leg of the second round of World Cup qualifying.
China’s Sohu.com said, “For China to beat South Korea, it will be important to perform well on defense. Looking at the overall strength, Korea is undoubtedly the favorite. South Korea has 10 Europeans and Son Heung-min is the captain of Tottenham. Lee Kang-in and Hwang Hee-chan are the mainstays of PSG and Wolverhampton, while Kim Min-jae is the mainstay of Bayern Munich’s defense. Jung Woo-young, Lee Jae-sung, Cho Kyu-sung, Hwang In-beom, Hwang Eui-jo, and Oh Hyun-gyu also play in Europe.” “China is only second in Asia and Korea is first in the world. However, China beat South Korea 1-0 in the final round of the World Cup in Russia. With tens of thousands of fans cheering them on at home games, China will not be waiting for death. The World Cup qualifier against South Korea will be broadcast live across China and will be watched by hundreds of millions of viewers. Chinese soccer can never be fooled. Against a team as strong as South Korea, even a 1-0 win is enough.
Wu Lei, who scored China’s first goal in this World Cup qualifier with the equalizer against Thailand, added: “Korea is a strong team in Asia and a great team in the world. China will keep its head down and fight,” he said. “We know everything about Korea,” said China coach Jankovic ahead of the World Cup qualifier. They have European experience and recently played two matches in Europe.” “We will be playing against a world-class team. They are a top team not only in Asia but also in the world. They have individual skills, they have stable power, and they have confidence. It’s a big challenge for us.” 아톰카지노 주소