Chinese President Xi Jinping ‘not so sure’ about national football team, says they were lucky to beat Thailand

China beat Thailand 2-1 in a Group C qualifying match for the 2026 Fifa World Cup
Recording reveals Xi’s off-the-cuff remark, with him questioning national team’s level

Chinese Football Association (CFA)

Agence France-PresseandSCMP Sport

Published: 2:45pm, 19 Nov 2023

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has said he is “not so sure” of the abilities of the men’s national football team, despite their recent victory over Thailand.

China beat Thailand 2-1 on Thursday in a Group C qualifying match for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, a win tarnished by angry Thai fans, who tried to provoke Chinese fans by throwing rubbish into the away section, forcing security to intervene.

When discussing the match with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, Xi made the rare off-the-cuff remark, according to a video posted on Saturday by a Thai government account on X, formerly Twitter.

After evidently hearing the results of the recent match, Xi said: “I think there was a lot of luck involved.

“Because now, about our national team, I’m not so sure about their level,” Xi said ahead of a meeting of Apec [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation] leaders in San Francisco. “There are ups and downs,” he added.

Xi, who has previously described himself as a football fan, said he dreams of China hosting and winning a World Cup one day.

But ambitions of developing the men’s team into an international powerhouse have not come to fruition.

In September, hosts China fell 0-1 to Syria in a friendly loss mocked by frustrated fans and derided by state media as “another embarrassing defeat”.

Chinese football has been in the grip of a major anti-corruption campaign that has seen numerous leading figures investigated or charged, including former national coach Li Tie.

The men’s national team face a critical few months with the start of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, and the Asian Cup in January-February in Qatar.