Team China all out of answers

Dismal defeat to Oman in final World Cup qualifier underlines size of rebuild task ahead

Team China's World Cup qualification campaign ended with a whimper on Tuesday, leaving fans struggling to find any positives from another dismal performance as the country's wait for a first appearance at soccer's showpiece since 2002 goes on.

A 2-0 defeat to minnow Oman showed just how far Chinese soccer has declined in recent years, and suggested the team faces a long road ahead to return to Asia's elite ranks.

With both teams' chances of reaching the 2022 World Cup in Qatar long gone, only pride was at stake for China and Oman in their final Group B fixture in Muscat.

And it was the host who showed the greater intent in that regard, dominating from the first whistle to the last, and registering four shots on target from 11 attempts. A damning stat of zero shots on target for Team China said it all about the visitor's pitiful performance.

With only six points (one win and three draws) from its last 10 qualifiers, Team China finished fifth in the six-team Group B, far behind the top two automatic qualifiers, Saudi Arabia and Japan, and nine points adrift of third-place Australia which now faces a playoff against the United Arab Emirates.

Sports commentator Han Qiaosheng summed up the mood of Chinese fans, writing on Weibo: "Team China managed zero shots on target against Oman, concluding their World Cup qualification journey with an embarrassing performance.

"I think before the start of the final phase of Asian zone qualification, no fan would have expected Team China to have such a result.

"But this is the reason why the squad has sunk so low: We need to admit that China's soccer development has major problems.

"Some fans joked years ago that if there could be 48 teams in the World Cup finals, then Team China might have a chance of qualifying. But, given their current form, even if there were 64 teams in the finals, there still would be no spot for the Chinese men's team."

Team China head coach Li Xiaopeng said he could not fault his players' effort, but admitted they lacked quality.

"We're simply not good enough. The players have tried hard, and I think they have put in a lot of hard work over the last two years. They need to process this result, move on and prepare for their next league matches," said Li.

"I think the players have courage, and they showed the will to attack. Compared with the previous qualifiers, we did not just defend and we attacked more. But still the overall performance is not satisfactory.

"We will regroup and take things step by step. We will continue to call up our best players to the national team, and obviously we still need to keep working hard."