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The China national football team () is the national Football team of China and is governed by the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The ''China national team'' was founded in 1924 and joined FIFA in 1931 - 58 , and then from 1979 . They have been perennial contenders for the Asian Cup , most recently finishing second in the AFC 2004 , but had failed to score a goal in their maiden FIFA World Cup appearance in the Football World Cup 2002 . After the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom in 1997, and Macau from Portugal in 1999, these two Special Administrative Regions have continued to have their own teams, which play as " Hong Kong, China " and " Macau, China ", respectively. Taiwan ( Republic Of China ) plays as " Chinese Taipei ". The team playing as "China" represents Mainland China only. As Football is widely followed in China , triumph by the national team is considered to be a source of National Pride . Around 300 million people tuned in to broadcasts of China's World Cup 2002 matches with a staggering 170 million new television sets being bought by citizens in order to watch their nation's first World Cup appearance. There were over 250 million viewers for the Asian Cup 2004 finals, the largest single-event sports audience in the country's history.FootballAsia.com, ''Asian Cup final smashes viewing records'' , 12 August 2004. The team is colloquially referred to as ''Team China'' (中国队), the ''National Team'' (国家队) or ''Guozu'' (国足, lit. "national foot"). HISTORY The national team began to make their way to national and international prominence in the beginning of the late-1980s through the introduction of Televisions in Chinese households. Previously, Chinese national pride was found almost exclusively in the national womens' Football and Volleyball teams and in Table Tennis , with little success in other Team Sports . By 1980 it was apparent that China, being one of Asia 's stronger sides, could compete for a berth in the 1982 World Cup Finals, although through the next 16 years after China had missed on World Cup qualification time after time. In 1981 , China lost the playoff against the New Zealand team, a heartbreaking loss for the large home audience that followed the qualification. During the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, China was on the verge of qualifying, but lost crucial matches at home, especially the matches against Qatar and Iran . Simply because of the Demographics Of The People's Republic Of China , the team arguably has the most fans of any sporting team in the world, as with Basketball . As a result, expectations soared in 2001 as China advanced, for the first time in it's history, to the World Cup Finals in 2002. Under the direction of head coach Bora Milutinović , the team had lost all three group matches and failed to score a single goal. Recent history In recent years, many have pointed to two main weaknesses of the team. Despite a very organized and well-drilled defense, team China lacks good strikers and creative playmakers who can also keep possession of the ball well. The team's main tactics against stronger teams tend to be both defensive and counterattacking, with long punts to a lone striker, who is quickly dispossessed of the ball due to lack of support. In 2004, Dutch coach Arie Haan summed up his impression of Chinese Football by saying, "Chinese players are very skilled, but the problem seemed to be related to the culture and psychology of the players," and that the psychological aspect tended to strongly influence the players. Former captain Li Weifeng illustrated this when he said that the Chinese team usually expects wins against weaker opposition but quickly gets irritated when things do not go to plan. This has often been attributed to the pressure due to massive public expectations of the team during the World Cup qualifiers, for example. Many critics also point to the complacency of the team at critical moments, especially when they are holding a lead or playing weaker teams. In the World Cup 2006 qualifiers, the team managed to only score a single goal against Hong Kong in Hong Kong , a team which China was expected to washout with goals. European coaches who have worked or been in China often cite a lack of professionalism and discipline in Chinese football as the reasons for the Chinese national team's overall weakness. An example of this is the rampant Corruption of the first division of the professional Chinese Football League , especially the 'black whistles' scandals involving Bribed Referees Fixing Matches . This may be seen as an extension of modern Chinese Society developing in a complex world of traditional culture involving Personal Relationships and Capitalism . Recently, an increasing number of talented, young Chinese players have moved to Europe to gain experience in a professional setting. Many are or were key players in the national team, such as Du Wei ( Celtic F.C. ), Zheng Zhi ( Charlton Athletic F.C. ), Li Tie (mainly Everton F.C. ), Sun Jihai ( Manchester City F.C ), Shao Jiayi ( 1860 Munich and Energie Cottbus ), Sun Xiang ( PSV Eindhoven ), Zhang Enhua ( Grimsby Town F.C ), Ma Mingyu ( A.C. Perugia ), Fan Zhiyi ( Crystal Palace F.C. and Dundee F.C. ), Li Jinyu ( AS Nancy ), Yang Chen (best performances for Eintracht Frankfurt ), and Xie Hui (best performances for Alemannia Aachen ). Rising star striker Dong Fangzhuo currently plays for Manchester United , and after several successful seasons with Belgian club Royal Antwerp F.C. , his Premiership debut came in a match against Chelsea F.C. at Stamford Bridge. Another potential star is Yu Dabao , who has been regularly scoring for the Benfica B team and is touted to break into the senior SL Benfica team next season. More players with European experience may yield better results for the national team. Key players Li Tie and Li Jinyu were part of the 'Jianlibao' team in the mid-1990s that trained young, talented players in Brazil . The national team has produced some displays of controlled and creative football in friendlies, especially during the 0-0 draw against Brazil in November 2002 and the 3-1 loss to France in May 2006. After the 0-0 draw with Brazil, Cafu complimented the Chinese performance and said they were definitely capable of qualifying for the World Cup 2006 . The team, however, failed to advance through the preliminary qualification stage, losing to Kuwait on goals scored, even though China scored seven goals in a blow-out against Hong Kong in the last qualifying match. While qualifying for the 2007 Asian Cup , the team became the subject of immense criticism in the media and a national embarrassment when it scored only one goal (a Shao Jiayi penalty kick well into final injury time) against Singapore at home in Tianjin , and tied the Southeast Asian city-state in the away game. In preparation for the 2007 Asian Cup, the team spend the weeks leading up to the tournament on a tour of the United States. While the 4-1 loss to a streaking US Men's National Team was not unexpected, a 1-0 loss to a Real Salt Lake team that had been winless in the MLS raised many eyebrows. In the Asian Cup 2007 tournament, the team played three inconsistent games, winning against Malaysia, drawing Iran after leading 2-0 at half time, and losing to Uzbekistan with an embarrassing 3-0 scoreline. Under high expectations, China's performance drew immense criticism on online communities, which condemned the coach, players, along with the Chinese Football Association in general. Coach Zhu Guanghu has not indicated whether or not he will resign. Rivalries Traditionally, China's greatest rival has been Japan . This was exemplified in August 2004 that saw rioting by Chinese fans near the north gate of the Beijing Workers Stadium towards the end of the match between the two sides at the Asian Cup 2004 Final , which Japan won 3-1 (with a clear handball). The rioting was said to be provoked by controversial officiating and anti-Japanese sentiment resulting from historical tensions arising from several military conflicts between the two nations from the late-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century (see First and Second Sino-Japanese Wars ), as well as from lingering controversies, such as the issue of Comfort Women . China's most recent major tournament meeting with Japan was the East Asian Cup 2005 Final , which China won. One well-known piece of rivalry about Chinese football is in relation to their neighbour, South Korea , which is not as inflammable with the rivalry with Japan. China has played about thirty matches against them since 1950 but they have never won a head-to-head match against the team, despite finishing higher in a number of tournaments. HOME STADIUM See Also: Workers Stadium The Workers Stadium (Chinese: 工人体育场) is a multi-purpose stadium in Beijing , China. It is mostly used for football matches. The stadium was built in 1959 and it was last renovated in 2004. It currently has a capacity of 70,161. The stadium was the main venue for the 1990 Asian Games , where the opening and closing ceremonies were held. Some high attendance matches of Beijing Guoan Football Club are also held at the stadium. KITS The China national football team is currently sponsored by Adidas . FIXTURES AND RESULTS Forthcoming fixtures
Recent results Goal scorers in brackets.
COMPETITION HISTORY
FIFA World Cup record
AFC Asian Cup record
EAFF East Asian Cup record PLAYER HISTORY Notable players 1930s 1945 onwards China captains Most capped China players As of January 2, 2006, the players with the most caps for China are: Top China goalscorers As of June 1, 2007, the players with the most goals scored for China are:
CHINA SQUAD Current squad ; 2007 Asian Cup squad, ( July 7 , 2007 - July 29 , 2007 ). Standbys Recent call-ups (within the last 12 months) Previous squads PERSONNEL Current coaching staff China coaches REFERENCES AND NOTES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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