China (ranked 80th in the FIFA rankings) suffered a 1-2 upset loss to Uzbekistan (ranked 75th in the FIFA rankings) in an A Match friendly at the Dalian Sports Center Stadium in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, at 8:35 p.m. on Saturday. With the win, China concluded its two-game October A-Match series with a 1-1 record.
On October 10, China defeated Vietnam (FIFA ranking 95th) 2-0. Wang Chuming and Wu Lei scored back-to-back goals. China took the confidence gained from the win over Vietnam into the next match against Uzbekistan, who were a step up in quality.
The continent was eager to make it two wins in a row in A matches. 바카라사이트
Head coach Aleksandar Jankovic deployed a 3-4-3 formation. Up front, Wei Shihao (Wuhan), Aikersun (Chengdu, naturalized Brazilian), and Wu Lei (Shanghai). In the center were Li Lei (Beijing), Li Ke (Beijing, England, you), Wang Chuming (Tianjin), and He Yufeng (Dalian). The back three was Zhu Tianze (Shanghai), Zhang Guangtai (Shanghai, England), and Wang Shanguan (Henan). In goal, Yan Juling (Shanghai) completed the starting lineup.
The tense balance was broken just before halftime. It was thanks to Wei Shihao's goal in the 41st minute. Entering the second half, China made a series of substitutions, bringing on Gao Tianyi (Beijing), Tan Long (Changchun), Chen Fu (Shandong), Liu Yang (Shandong), and Fang Hao (Beijing) to consolidate.
But it was not to be. The equalizer came in the 33rd minute through Otavek Shukhurov after a penalty kick (PK). In the 41st minute of the second half, Uzbekistan tied the game with a momentary Iskanderov goal. In the end, China couldn't get past Uzbekistan and failed to extend their winning streak.
Public sentiment on the continent is cold. "There is no will to win," fans said, "Zhang Guangtai is the only player in China," "It's the worst in China's history," "The coach is not good enough, the players are not good enough," "Yankovic is only a third-rate coach," and "The first priority is discipline," according to China's Sina Sports.
China has been drawn in Group C for the second round of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Canada-Mexico-USA (North America). Jürgen Klinsmann's South Korea are the clear favorites, with China facing Thailand and the winner of the Singapore-Guam matchup. But at this rate, the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America is in jeopardy in three years.