Tianjin triumph lifts morale

Not a panacea but a painkiller that was very much needed.

A 4-1 win over Singapore on Tuesday kept Team China's 2026 World Cup dreams alive, but it seems unlikely that this rare success will be enough to heal the ills that have plagued Chinese soccer in recent years.

Roared on by more than 42,000 home fans at Tianjin Olympic Sports Center Stadium, the Chinese men's team overcame a first-half scare to finish strong in a 4-1 rout of Singapore in an Asian zone qualifier for the 2026 finals on Tuesday.

Team China's second win in its fourth Group C fixture, and the first under new coach Branko Ivankovic, was celebrated just a few hours after five former governing body officials were handed prison terms for corruption.

The news had cast a shadow over Tuesday night's game, but the beleaguered national team lifted the mood somewhat by securing the three points in what was essentially a must-win game for the host. The victory lifted Team China into second place in Group C behind South Korea, with Thailand third and the winless Singapore fourth.

Victory over Thailand in a June 6 home match will secure China a top-two finish in the group and a place in the next qualifying round, which will involve 18 teams with eight direct World Cup berths up for grabs. Encouragingly, China won the corresponding game against Thailand 2-1 in Bangkok last November.

Ivankovic, who took the helm from Serbian caretaker boss Aleksandar Jankovic last month, credited his new attacking philosophy for Team China's first international win in seven matches.

"From the coach's perspective, I am particularly happy because the team executed our game plan throughout the match," Ivankovic, a 70-year-old Croatian, said through an interpreter at the post-match news conference.

"We kept pushing aggressively to attack and trying to create opportunities for goals. This was thanks to how well the players executed our new tactics," said Ivankovic, who guided Iran to qualification for the 2006 World Cup and led Shandong Taishan to the Chinese Super League title in 2010.

"Only by winning and winning this way can we build our confidence for better performances in the future."

'Far from perfect'

Despite the lopsided score, Team China was forced to dig deep for the win when Faris Ramli headed in a cross from Ryhan Stewart just a minute after captain Wu Lei had given the host a 21st-minute lead.

The sucker punch left the packed stadium sighing in disbelief, and brought back painful memories of last week's 2-2 draw in Singapore, where the visitor squandered a 2-0 lead.

A timely spot-kick scored by Brazilian-born naturalized winger Fei Nanduo, aka Fernando, in the 65th restored Team China's lead before Ivankovic's men made sure to kill off the plucky underdog's challenge, with Wu bagging his second goal of the night before a late strike by substitute Wei Shihao sealed the win.

After netting five goals in four matches, former La Liga player Wu is tied with South Korean star Son Heung-min, Japan's Ayase Ueda and Almoez Ali of Qatar as the top scorers of the Asian qualifiers.

The ever-humble Wu said his back-to-back braces against Singapore should be kept in perspective, given the defensive frailties of China's 156th-ranked opponent.

"I am so proud of myself and the whole team. We delivered under huge pressure after the last draw. We stuck to the coach's plan and it paid off. We've now regained our confidence for the next qualifying window," said Wu, who played in La Liga with Espanyol from 2018-2022.

"We shouldn't get too carried away by this win, though. We still have a must-win match against Thailand in less than three months and there are a lot of weaknesses in our team to fix. We played better but we were far from perfect."

Team China will be without the services of Wu and defensive midfielder Li Yuanyi for the June showdown against Thailand through suspension after they picked up a yellow card and a straight red respectively on Tuesday.

"We will analyze more players and hopefully we can rely more on the collective strength of the whole team to make up for the loss of these two key players," said Ivankovic.

Long road ahead

As fans savored some rare glory, the country's ambitious soccer revitalization project outlined in a reform plan issued by the State Council in 2015 is still dealing with challenges on and off the pitch.

Stagnant talent development, outdated administration, abuse of power, and low technical standards in the domestic league remain major concerns that even a successful World Cup qualifying campaign could not fix, several former players and coaches have warned.

The recent crackdown on match-fixing and bribery, which saw former Chinese Football Association chief Chen Xuyuan and four other officials sentenced to life in prison for financial crimes, highlighted the central government's resolve to clean up the sport.

Yet, it's up to everyone playing, coaching and living the game to help foster a stronger future from within, according to Sun Jihai, a formidable member of China's 2002 World Cup squad and a former Manchester City defender.

"Good performances at international level occasionally help to draw more attention to the game but it is the consistent efforts in youth development that can turn us into World Cup contenders," said Sun, who's been rolling out a youth training program in his native Liaoning province, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Yunnan province in recent years.

"It takes patience and commitment, generation after generation, before international breakthroughs can be expected again," he added.

Li Yi, a former Team China striker, also urged fans and media to lower their current expectations for the national team.

"Instead, we should focus on supporting and helping the domestic league to develop high-level competitions, and getting more involved in grassroots training whenever and wherever possible," he said.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn