Chinese National Football Team ⁤Suffers Crushing⁣ Defeat to ⁣Japan in FIFA 2026​ World Cup Asian Qualifiers

On September 5, Beijing time, the ⁤Chinese national football‍ team played against Japan away in the first match of the FIFA 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers Round‌ of ⁤18. The Japanese team took the lead through headers from Endo Wataru and ​Mitoma Kaoru in‍ the first half. In the second half, Minamino Takumi ‍scored ⁣two goals, and Ito Jun’ya, Maeda ‌Dairan, and Kubo Takefusa scored successively.⁢ The Chinese national team lost​ to the Japanese team 0-7.

The Chinese national football team⁣ set a number of records after losing ⁢0-7, including the biggest loss to Japan, the most goals conceded ⁣in a single World Cup qualifier, and the biggest loss⁢ in a World Cup qualifier. This is the biggest loss in the history of the⁤ Chinese national football team. The previous biggest loss came in a friendly match with Brazil in 2012, when the Chinese national‍ football team ⁤lost 0-8 to Brazil.

Ivankovic deployed a 4-4-2 parallel midfield system as expected, with ​goalkeeper Wang Dalei and four defenders Yang Zexiang, Jiang‌ Guangtai, Zhu Chenjie, and Liu Yang. The four midfielders were Xie Wenneng, Jiang Shenglong, Li Yuanyi, and ​Xu Haoyang. Wu Lei and Zhang Yuning, who​ were substitutes⁢ due to minor injuries in the China-Korea match, returned to the starting lineup in this game, replacing Fernando and Baiheram.

The‍ Japanese team changed its lineup for this game to 3-4-2-1, with Endo Wataru and Morita Hidemasa as double defensive midfielders in the midfield, Doan Ritsu and Mitoma Kaoru as ⁢wingbacks,‌ and Kubo Takefusa and⁤ Minamino ​Takumi as shadow strikers behind⁢ the single striker⁤ Ueda Yoshiyo.

The German transfer‌ market website ⁣shows that the Japanese team’s starting lineup⁤ is worth 195 million⁣ euros,⁤ while ‍the Chinese national team’s starting ​lineup is worth 6.15 million euros. The Japanese⁣ team’s starting lineup is all European players,‍ with the highest value being Takefusa Kubo at 50 million euros and the lowest ‌being Shogo‍ Taniguchi at 1.5 million euros. The Chinese national⁣ team’s highest value ​is Wu Lei at 1.2 million euros, 300,000 ⁢euros lower than Shogo Taniguchi.

The Chinese national football team is‍ at an absolute disadvantage in its historical record against Japan.​ According to statistics from the official website of the Chinese Football Association, the ​last time the Chinese men’s football team defeated Japan was in the 1998 Dynas Cup semi-finals, when ‍the Chinese national football team beat Japan 2-0.

Since⁤ then, the Chinese national​ football team has not won against⁢ Japan in 14 games in all competitions, with ‍a total record of ​8 losses and 6 draws​ in ‌14 games. Of course, during this period, the Japanese ⁢team won the Chinese national football team by at most⁢ two goals, and ‍never won by more than three goals.

The Japanese team gradually took control of the game after 10 minutes. In the 11th minute, Takefusa Kubo made a cross from the left rib, and Ritsu Doan⁣ headed the ball in the middle of the penalty area, but Wang Dalei saved it. Taking advantage of this corner⁤ kick, in the 12th minute, the ‌Japanese team played a pick-and-roll cooperation,​ and Endo ⁢Wataru, who was not guarded, easily headed the ball into the goal in a huge open space.

In the third minute of​ injury time in the first half, Takefusa Kubo passed ⁤the ball‍ back, Ritsu Doan made a diagonal pass to the ⁢back post from the left rib, and Kaoru Mitoma headed the ball from a small angle and the ball bounced into the net. The ⁣Japanese team went into the ‌half-time break with a score of 2-0.

Technical ‍statistics at halftime showed‍ that the Chinese national⁢ team had only one shot – Zhang Yuning’s long-range shot from outside the penalty area was incomprehensible, and the ball ⁤possession rate was only 25%; while the Japanese team had 9 shots, 4 of which were on target, ⁤and the pass success rate ​was 89%, much higher than the Chinese national team’s 65%. ​In addition, Yang Zexiang and Zhang ⁢Yuning received yellow cards in the game.

Fan Zhiyi,‌ who was watching the game live, ‌sighed: “It was too easy for the opponent to score in this game. If it weren’t for the distance, I really wanted ‌to jump into the Huangpu River. We can accept you losing to Japan, but ‍letting the opponent score so easily⁣ is really too bad.”

At the beginning of the second half, Ivan replaced Xie Wenneng with Gao ⁤Zhunyi, and the Chinese‌ national team changed its formation to 5-3-2. However, the change did not bring ‌any substantial changes. In the 52nd minute of the ‍second half, Takumi Minamino dribbled past Jiang Shenglong in the penalty ‌area and scored with his right foot‍ in the far corner, giving Japan a 3-0 lead. Six minutes later, Takumi⁤ Minamino made a comeback. He dribbled in front of the penalty​ area and shot low to score, once again⁣ breaking through Wang Dalei’s⁣ ten fingers. After losing the ball, Wang Dalei sat on the ground for a long time without getting up.

But the Japanese team’s goals were not over yet. In‍ the 77th minute, Ito Junya took a step inside‍ the penalty area and shot with his left foot. The ball hit Empress Jiang Guang and deflected into the net. In the 87th minute, Ito Junya assisted Maeda Dairan to score with⁢ a header. In the‍ last⁤ minute of injury time, Kubo Takefusa⁢ scored.

the Chinese national football team suffered a crushing defeat in the⁤ first match‌ of the round of 18, losing⁤ 0-7⁢ to the Japanese team.

After the game, Chinese national football player Zhang Yuning was interviewed on⁣ the ​sidelines.⁣ When asked about the topic of “where is the gap”,​ he said: “It is⁢ reflected in the score. The gap between Chinese and Japanese​ football. We will try to ⁣play‌ better when ⁤we return to our home court.”

When asked about how to prepare for the next game, ⁣Zhang Yuning said: “Try to get out of this ⁣game. The game is long and we have to​ fight one game at a time.”