Newly appointed China head coach Aleksandar Janković is aiming to guide the Asian country to qualification for the 2026 World Cup, the Serbian said, adding that the team has room for improvement.
Despite major government ambitions for the team, China have qualified for the World Cup only once in 2002 when they lost all three of their group matches and failed to score a goal.
HONG KONG — China will no longer host the 2023 Asian Cup finals due to the COVID-19 situation in the country, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Saturday, adding that it will decide on a new host in due course.
The event, which is played every four years and features 24 national teams from across the continent, was due to be held in 10 cities from June 16 to July 16 next year.
HONG KONG — Chinese authorities have banned footballers from getting tattoos and instructed national team players who have been inked to remove or cover them up to set a "good example for society."
A growing number of high-profile Chinese players have been sporting tattoos, including international defender Zhang Linpeng, who has previously been told to cover up while appearing for both the national team and club side Guangzhou FC.
Chinese soccer's problems are so deep-rooted that not even the best coaches in the world could get them to the World Cup without the help of a magic wand, according to former international Wang Xiaolong.
China's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals for the first time since 2002 are hanging by a thread after they lost three of their first four matches in the third round of Asian qualifying for Qatar.
Here's how things stand after Matchday 4️⃣
BEIJING - Chinese football was thrown into disarray on Sunday as the owners of reigning Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu FC announced the club would cease operations with immediate effect.
A post on Jiangsu's official WeChat account expressed hope of new backers or that a "company of insight" would be willing to consult on the team's future.
The announcement stated all of owners Suning Group's football clubs, including the hugely successful Jiangsu Suning Women, would "cease operations from today.”
HONG KONG — When the Chinese Super League (CSL) kicks off its 2021 season much will have changed since Jiangsu Suning defeated Guangzhou Evergrande to claim their first title in early December.
The imposition of a neutral name rule, first mooted two years ago, by Chinese football authorities means professional clubs must remove references to corporate sponsors from team names and crests ahead of the new season, which is expected to start in April.
AS Roma has today confirmed the return to the club of Italy international Stephan El Shaarawy.
El Shaarawy, who initially joined I Giallorossi on loan from AC Milan in January 2016, departed for China 18 months ago in a $17.6 million deal with Shanghai Shenhua. "Il faraone" enjoyed the most productive spell of his career in the capital, scoring 40 goals and assisting 26 in 139 appearances for Roma.
Rafa Benitez has left Chinese Super League side Dalian Pro, with the Spaniard saying on Saturday that the COVID-19 pandemic was a factor in his decision.
The former Liverpool and Real Madrid head coach was hired on a lucrative contract worth a reported 12 million pounds ($16 million) per year after he left Newcastle United in 2019.
"Unfortunately, like so many things in the last year, COVID-19 has changed our lives and our projects. From today, both my coaching staff and I will sadly no longer be coaching Dalian," Benitez said in a statement.
Alex Teixeira scored and put on a stellar performance to earn Jiangsu Suning their first-ever Chinese Super League title with a 2-1 win over defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande in their championship playoff second leg on Thursday.
Brazilian winger Teixeira was instrumental in Eder Martins’ opening goal before scoring his side’s second as Jiangsu saw off the eight-time champions, who were reduced to 10 men in the first half, with a second-leg victory after the teams had played out a goalless draw on Sunday.
Conceding immediately after kickoff is a FIFA video game tradition unlike any other. For some unholy reason, opponents will slice through your team like a hot knife through butter after a kickoff. Every so often this event of a fast kickoff goal takes place in the real world.
No kickoff goal will be faster than that poor Spanish goalkeeper scoring a late goal and then immediately getting lobbed from kickoff. We have found a close second though.