China Out of World Cup contention

China was eliminated from World Cup contention ahead of Uzbekistan and Jordan making their debuts. Meanwhile, South Korea ensured their eleventh consecutive appearance in the men's FIFA World Cup by defeating Iraq 2-0.

On a frenzied Thursday evening, where stakes were high, Australia managed to narrowly defeat an already qualified Japan with a last-minute goal, ending the match at 1-0. Meanwhile, China suffered a loss of 1-0 in Indonesia. In Group A, Uzbekistan secured the second automatic qualifying position after achieving a scoreless draw against the United Arab Emirates, leaving them behind only Iran.

In Group B, both South Korea and Jordan clinched spots at the 2026 worldwide championship taking place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Ali Olwan netted all three goals as Jordan defeated Oman with a score of 3-0.

In Group C, a first-half penalty from Ole Romeny in Jakarta was enough to end China's chances of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 2002, when the tournament was staged in Asia for the first time and co-hosts South Korea and Japan didn't have to go through continental qualifying.

Many wonder why a nation with a population of 1.4 billion, renowned for its success in Olympic events, finds it so difficult to qualify for soccer’s premier tournament.

Last year, Branko Ivankovic, a Croatian who has worked internationally in both Iran and Oman, was appointed to lead the Chinese national men's team. According to domestic news agency Xinhua, the head coach accepted partial blame for yet another unsuccessful effort.

The squad has been striving toward this objective for more than two decades. We felt confident that reaching the subsequent round from this challenging group would significantly boost our qualification prospects," stated Ivankovic, as reported by Xinhua. "However, we fell short, and as the head coach, I undoubtedly hold substantial accountability.

As this phase of Asian qualification nears its conclusion with just one match left, China has secured victories in merely two out of nine encounters and currently sits at the bottom of the table, which includes teams like Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Indonesia.

"We've brought in a younger generation of players who have injected energy into the team," Ivankovic said. "Based on their performances, I believe this team has a promising future."