On the evening of September 10th, the Chinese men’s national football team faced off against Saudi Arabia at home and was defeated 1-2 despite having more players on the field. This loss marks the second consecutive defeat for the Chinese men’s team after a 0-7 loss to Japan in the first match of the World Cup qualifiers, leaving them at the bottom of the group with slim chances of advancing.
In the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, 18 teams competed in Dalian Suoyu Bay Football Stadium on Tuesday, September 10th. The China men’s team, also known as “Team China,” played against Saudi Arabia with nearly 50,000 fans in attendance at the stadium.
Coach Branko Ivanković made some adjustments to the starting lineup of Team China for this match. Brazilian-born naturalized Chinese player Fei Nanduo replaced Zhang Yuning, partnering with team captain Wu Lei in the forward line. Behram Abduweli replaced Xu Haoyang in the midfield, while Liu Yang and Yang Zexiang were replaced by Gao Junyi and Li Lei in the full-back positions.
In the 14th minute of the game, Fei Nanduo of Team China took a corner kick, and Jiang Shenglong’s header caused a Saudi player to score an own goal, giving Team China the lead.
Just two minutes later, Saudi player Mohammed Kano fell while dribbling and then kicked Jiang Shenglong in the face after falling, resulting in a direct red card after VAR review by the referee.
Team China took the lead in numbers after 16 minutes of the game.
However, in the 37th minute, Saudi player Hassan Kadesh scored a goal from a corner kick, ending the first half with a 1-1 draw between Team China and Saudi Arabia.
In the first half, Team China had a possession rate of 32% compared to Saudi Arabia’s 68%, with a passing success rate of only 60% compared to the opponent’s 77%. They had a slight advantage in shots with 5-4.
In the second half, Team China made substitutions, with Wang Shangyuan coming on for Jiang Guangtai.
Despite having more players on the field, Team China struggled against Saudi players’ fast pace and committed several fouls.
In the second half, after Wang Shangyuan came on, Team China launched a strong attack, with Wang Shangyuan heading towards the goal, but unfortunately, he was offside and the goal was disallowed.
As the game neared its end, Saudi player Kadesh scored another header from a corner kick, putting Saudi Arabia ahead. In the end, Team China lost to Saudi Arabia with a score of 1-2, failing to earn any points.
In the upcoming World Cup qualifier schedule, Team China will face Australia away on October 10th.
According to the current FIFA rankings, Saudi Arabia is ranked 56th, while China is 87th. Based on transfer market website data, the total value of the 23-man squad of China is 9.65 million euros, while Saudi Arabia’s 23-man squad is valued at 28 million euros.
Public records show that in the history of matches between Team China and Saudi Arabia, Team China has won 6 times, drawn 5 times, and lost 8 times.
In the first round of the World Cup Asian qualifiers in Group C, Team China suffered a devastating 0-7 loss to Japan away. Team China set several records of defeat: the biggest loss to Japan, the most goals conceded in a single World Cup qualifier game, and the largest margin of defeat in a World Cup qualifier.
On their way back home, many fans of the Chinese national football team criticized the Chinese Football Association and threw water bottles at the team convoy.
After encountering two consecutive defeats at the start of the World Cup qualifiers, Team China is facing a dire situation in terms of advancing.
Currently, official Chinese Communist Party opinions attribute the consecutive losses of the national team to the inadequate abilities of head coach Ivanković. The “Labor Daily” cited fan comments calling him a “charlatan,” despite the Croatian coach having led the Iranian national team in the 2006 World Cup.
According to the “Beijing Youth Daily,” on the day of the match against Saudi Arabia, top leaders of the Chinese Football Association visited the team’s base to boost morale. The report stated that this visit was both a gesture of encouragement and a serious warning that if Team China could not demonstrate dominance in the home game, Ivanković as head coach may face repercussions and be “fired.”