Support us China isn't competing in the 2026 World Cup, but its presence will be felt throughout the event. Image: X North America’s World Cup summer has begun, and China is once again outside the tournament rather than inside it. That fact is familiar. But it should not be flattened into the usual joke about a country of 1.4 billion people failing to find eleven footballers. China did not vanish at the first hurdle. It narrowly reached the third round of Asian qualifying in 2024, preserving hopes of returning to the finals for the first time since 2002. But the expanded 48-team format, and Asia’s wider doorway into the tournament, still were not enough. China’s campaign ended before the finals, leaving the same uncomfortable conclusion: vast population, wealth, infrastructure and sporting ambition have not yet produced a reliable World Cup team. The more interesting point is that there are really two Chinas at this World Cup, and only one of them is missing. The absent China is obvious. It is the men’s national team, whose only World Cup appearance remains the goalless group-stage exit of 2002. The other China is everywhere.
Comments
İlk yorumu siz yazın!