China’s men’s national soccer team has been consistently declining in world rankings. According to the latest FIFA ranking, the Chinese men’s team has dropped to 96th place, reaching a new low in the past decade.
The international football governing body FIFA released the latest edition of the men’s world ranking on October 7th, revealing that China’s men’s team has fallen 5 places from the previous ranking to 96th place, marking the lowest rank in the past 10 years. The last time China was ranked 96th was in March 2016.
As per the latest ranking, China’s team currently has a score of 1241.90, placing them 15th among AFC teams. Over the past 10 years, China’s men’s team had reached as high as 57th in the world in October 2017, but has now dropped to 96th, a difference of 39 places from their peak ranking.
This recent decline in ranking can be attributed to the poor performance of the Chinese team in recent international matches.
In the recently concluded Chongqing International Football Tournament, the Chinese team managed to secure only 1 win out of 4 matches. After defeating the Maldives 3-0 in their first match, they suffered consecutive losses with 0-3 against New Zealand, 0-5 against Palestine, and 0-1 against Tajikistan, facing three consecutive defeats.
In particular, the 0-5 loss to Palestine on October 2nd has garnered significant attention. It marked the first time in history that China’s men’s team lost to Palestine and was the fourth largest defeat in the national team’s history.
Following the match, the Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency described it as a “shocking defeat” and pointed out that the 0-5 loss was a “reflection,” exposing the longstanding deficiencies in Chinese football that have yet to be addressed.
Xinhua also highlighted the talent gap in the national team, stating that “in more intense senior national team competitions, Chinese football still has a long way to go in achieving a true revival.”
In the latest world ranking, Spain, Argentina, France, and England retain their positions in the top four, with Portugal moving up two spots to 5th place. Brazil, Morocco, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Mexico occupy the 6th to 10th positions, respectively.