The Chinese men's football team missed the 2026 World Cup finals, captain Wang Dalei: Some things can't be controlled...

In Group C of the third stage of the 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifying Tournament, the Chinese men's football team, ranked 94th in the world, lost 0-1 away to Indonesia, ranked 123rd in the world, on the 5th. Due to the Chinese team's record of 2 wins and 7 defeats in the group stage of Group C, ranking at the bottom of the group 6 teams, the Chinese men's football team only has 1 game left and is sure to miss the 2026 World Cup. China's captain Wang Dalei said after the game, "There are some moments and things that we can't control. ”

The Chinese men's football team missed the 2026 World Cup finals

In the 40th minute of the first half of the game, Indonesia's Ricky Kambuaya (Ricky Kambuaya) held the ball into the opponent's penalty area, and was knocked down by China's player Yang Zexiang when defending, which was changed to a penalty by VAR, and Indonesian naturalized player Ole Romeny from the Netherlands scored the only goal of the game for the Indonesian team.

The Chinese team was unable to break through the Indonesian team's defense in the second half, and the Chinese men's football team had only one shot on target from five attempted shots in the whole game, while the Indonesian team had three shots on target from 13 shots, and the Chinese team finally swallowed up. Even if the number of teams in the 2026 World Cup finals expands to 48, the Chinese team will not participate in the World Cup. The Chinese men's football team only entered the World Cup in 2002 in history, and this defeat was the second time that the Chinese men's football team lost to Indonesia after 68 years.

Chinese men's football coach Ivankovic

Goalkeeper Wang Dalei, who served as the captain of China's team, said frankly, "I think our teammates played very tenaciously, but there are some moments and things that we can't control, so it's a pity." He pointed out that there was only one penalty today, "that's football. ”

The Chinese men's football team missed the 2026 World Cup, and the foreign head coach of the Chinese men's football team, Branko Ivankovic, said frankly, "As a coach, of course I am responsible for the result. ”

Indonesian naturalized player Rommeni scored the penalty

Ivankovic also praised the Indonesian team, "The Indonesian team has added new talents, including naturalized players and homegrown players, who are young, strong and showed a high quality of play today. ”