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| The E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) match between South Korea and Hong Kong at Yongin Mir Stadium in Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 11th. Coach Hong Myung-bo is waiting for the start of the game. Yongin = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.11/ |
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The FIFA rankings were all useless to China today.
FIFA announced its new ranking on the 18th (Korea time). The results of the two consecutive A matches in September were reflected. The joys and sorrows of South Korea and Japan competing for the top of Asian soccer were mixed. Hong Myung-bo defeated the U.S. 2-0 on the 7th, followed by a 2-2 draw with Mexico on the 10th. On the other hand, Japan crossed with South Korea and held two consecutive games. While it drew scoreless with Mexico, it lost 0-2 to the United States.
The result of the A match was inevitable in the ranking as well. Japan dropped from 17th to 19th. Iran also dropped one place from 20th to 21st. South Korea stayed in place, narrowing the gap between the two countries.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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However, there are places where we cannot afford to pay attention to Korea's ranking and Japan's decline. It's China. China remains in 94th place and still seems to be unable to rebound. The Chinese media also criticized this. China's NetEase 'Lanky of the Chinese national team is surprisingly stable. China's national team remains ranked 94th in the world. China has consistently maintained its top 100 ranking in the world for many years. Can this be called stable?' he pointed out.
Then 'In order for China to successfully advance to the World Cup, FIFA will have to provide 20 tickets to Asia. Eight and 14 chapters are not enough. If you give me 20 tickets, I'm 100 percent guaranteed to advance to the soccer field in China."
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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The 2026 North Korea-China World Cup is the first World Cup in which the number of countries that advance to the finals will increase from 32 to 48. However, China has failed to overcome even the Asian stage despite the increased number of tickets to the World Cup, continuing its humiliating history of failing to advance to the World Cup finals for six consecutive times since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. Even the fourth-place challenge, which can be expected to lead to the fourth qualifying round of the World Cup, has failed, continuing only the worst performance.
Song Kai, president of the Chinese Football Association, also sighed. After China's elimination from the World Cup, he said, `Now China is down to third- or fourth-rate football in Asia. There is no comparison between Australia and Japan", he pointed out. This reality was also confirmed in the FIFA rankings. While South Korea and Japan are aiming for a higher position on the world stage, China remains in place. China, the weakest of the three East Asian countries. It is not known how far China's fall is, but fans' sighs have already hit the bottom.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
