China national football team

Chinese Olympic football team in 1936

China's first-ever international representative match was arranged by Elwood Brown, president of the Philippine Athletic Association, who proposed the creation of the Far Eastern Championship Games, a multi-sport event considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games.[3] He invited China to participate in the inaugural 1913 Far Eastern Championship Games held in the Philippines, which included association football within the schedule. To represent them, it was decided that the winner of the football at the Chinese National Games in 1910 should have the honour to represent the country, where it was won by South China Football Club.[4] The club's founder and coach Mok Hing (Chinese: 莫慶) would become China's first coach and on 4 February 1913 in a one-off tournament game held in the Manila he led China to a 2–1 defeat against the Philippines national football team.[5]

The political unrest of the Xinhai Revolution that mired China's participation in the first tournament, especially in renaming the team as Republic of China national football team, did not stop Shanghai being awarded the 1915 Far Eastern Championship Games. Once again South China Football Club, now known as South China Athletic Association won the right to represent the nation. This time in a two legged play-off against the Philippines, China won the first game 1–0 and then drew the second 0–0 to win their first ever tournament.[6] With the games being the first and only regional football tournament for national teams outside Britain, China looked to establish themselves as a regional powerhouse by winning a total of nine championships.[7]

The Chinese Football Association was founded in 1924 and then was first affiliated with FIFA in 1931.[8] With these foundations in place China looked to establish themselves within the international arena and along with Japan were the first Asian sides to participate in the Football at the Summer Olympics when they competed within the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Germany. At the tournament China were knocked out within their first game at the round of 16 when they were beaten by Great Britain Olympic football team 2–0 on 6 August 1936.[9]

On 7 July 1937 the Second Sino-Japanese War officially erupted, which saw the relations between China and Japan completely eroded especially once it was announced that Japan would hold the 1938 Far Eastern Championship Games.[10] The tournament would be officially cancelled while Japan held their own tournament called the 2600th Anniversary of the Japanese Empire, which included the Japanese puppet states Manchukuo and the collaborationist National Reorganised Government of China based in occupied Nanjing. But none of the top Chinese players competed in the Japanese Empire anniversary games.[11] None of the games during the Second Sino-Japanese War are officially recognized and once the war ended on 9 September 1945 China looked to the Olympics once again for international recognition. On 2 August 1948 China competed in the Football at the 1948 Summer Olympics where they were once again knocked out in the last sixteen, this time by Turkey national football team in a 4–0 defeat.[12] When the players returned they found the country in the midst of the Chinese Civil War. When it ended, the team had been split into two, one called the People's Republic of China national football team and the other called Republic of China national football team (later renamed Chinese Taipei national football team).[13]

The newly instated People's Republic of China reformed CFA before having FIFA acknowledge their 1931 membership on 14 June 1952.[14] Finland, who were one of the first nations to hold diplomatic relations with China's new government, invited the country to take part in the 1952 Summer Olympics. Li Fenglou would become the country's first permanent manager to lead them in the tournament, however the Chinese delegation was delayed and they missed the entire competition, nevertheless the Finland national football team would still greet Li and the Chinese team with a friendly game on 4 August 1952 making it People's Republic of China's official first game, which ended in a 4–0 defeat.[15][16] In preparation for entering their first FIFA competition, China sent a young squad to train in Hungary in 1954.[17] However, when they entered the 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification process China were knocked out by Indonesia.[18]

On 7 June 1958, China stopped participating within any FIFA recognised football events when FIFA officially started to recognise the Republic of China as a different country.[14] This sparked a diplomatic argument that had already seen China withdraw from the 1956 Summer Olympics for the same reasons.[19] For years the People's Republic of China would only play in friendlies with nations who recognized them as the sole heir to the China name.[18] On 25 October 1971 the United Nations would recognise the People's Republic country as the sole heir to the China name in their General Assembly Resolution 2758 act.[20][21][22] Due to this hearing in 1973, the Nationalist Chinese team, which had been using the name "Republic of China", would stop using that name and would eventually rename themselves as "Chinese Taipei" in 1980.[23] These acts would see China rejoin the international sporting community, first by becoming a member of the Asian Football Confederation in 1974 and by rejoining FIFA again in 1979.[24][25]

The 1974 Asian Games reintroduced the team back into international football while the 1976 AFC Asian Cup saw them came third.[26]

Chinese players in a match against Saudi Arabia at the 1984 AFC Asian Cup

In 1980, China participated in the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for a berth in the 1982 World Cup, but they lost a play-off game against New Zealand.[27] During the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup, China faced Hong Kong at home in the final match of the first qualifying round on 19 May 1985 where China only needed a draw to advance. However, Hong Kong produced a 2–1 upset win which resulted in riots inside and outside the stadium in Beijing.[28] During the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, China again reached the final round. They just missed out on qualifying as they conceded two goals in the final three minutes against Qatar in their final group match.[29] During the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers – when they were led by their first ever foreign manager, Klaus Schlapner – China failed to reach the final round of qualifying, coming second behind Iraq.[30]

In 1987, the first Chinese footballers moved abroad when future national team player Xie Yuxin joined FC Zwolle (Netherlands) and ex-national teamer Gu Guangming joined SV Darmstadt 98 (Germany). In 1988, national team captain Jia Xiuquan and striker Liu Haiguang both joined FK Partizan (Yugoslavia).[31][32]

After failing to reach the 1998 FIFA World Cup, China appointed Serbian manager Bora Milutinović as coach of the national team, and China saw its fortune increased. The country managed to take fourth-place finish in the 2000 AFC Asian Cup where the Chinese side performed well, and only fell to heavyweights Japan and South Korea by one goal margin.[33] The good performance in Lebanon boosted the confidence of Chinese side, and in 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, China lost only one and drew only one, winning all the remaining games, most notably an important 1–0 win over Oman, to finally reach the 2002 FIFA World Cup, its first and only World Cup up to date.[34] In the 2002 World Cup, China was eliminated after three matches without gaining a single point nor even scoring a goal during their participation in the tournament.[35]

China hosted the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, ultimately fell 1–3 to Japan in a final match. The match's outcome sparked anger among Chinese supporters, who rioted in response to bad refereeing.[36] There were an estimated 250 million viewers for the match, the largest single-event sports audience in the country's history at that time.[37]

After winning the 2005 East Asian Football Championship following a 2–0 win against North Korea,[38] they started qualification for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. During this time, the team became the subject of immense criticism and national embarrassment in the media when they had managed to score only one goal, Shao Jiayi's penalty kick during injury time, against Singapore at home and only managed a draw with Singapore in the away game. During preparations for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the team spent the weeks leading up to the tournament on a tour of the United States. While the 4–1 loss to the United States was unexpected,[39] a 1–0 loss to Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake which finished bottom of the league in the 2007 season caused serious concern.[40][41]

During the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the team played three group matches, winning against Malaysia, drawing with Iran after leading 2–1, and losing 3–0 to Uzbekistan. After high expectations, China's performance at the tournament drew criticism online which condemned the team's members and even the association. Zhu was later replaced as manager by Vladimir Petrović after these performances.[42] Some commented that China's reliance on foreign managers for the past decade had been an indicator of its poor domestic manager development.[43]

In June 2008, China failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, losing against Qatar and Iraq at home. After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Petrović was sacked as the manager and Yin Tiesheng was announced as the team's caretaker.

In April 2009, China appointed Gao Hongbo as the new manager, replacing Yin Tiesheng. His arrival saw China opt for a new strategy, turning towards ground passing tactics and adopting the 4–2–3–1 formation. It was noted that Chinese footballers had relied too heavily on the long ball tactic for almost a decade. Wei Di, the chief of the Chinese Football Association, stressed that, "Anytime, no matter win or loss, they must show their team spirit and courage. I hope, after one year's effort, the national team can give the public a new image."[44] Gao was knocked out of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup's group stage. His winning percentage (65%), the highest for a Chinese manager since Nian Weisi (67.86%), did not defer the Chinese Football Association from replacing him with José Antonio Camacho in August 2011, less than a month before the qualification process for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

On 13 August 2011, José Antonio Camacho was appointed as the new manager of the team, signing a three-year deal for a reported annual salary of $8 million.[45] Wei Di, CFA chief, explained the decision as being part of a long-term plan to help the country catch up with rivals Japan and South Korea. He noted that, "Compared with their neighbours Japan and South Korea, Chinese football is lagging far behind, we need to work with a long-term view and start to catch up with a pragmatic approach. The citizens expects heavily for China to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil. They are afraid that changing the coach at the last moment may cause bad effect to the team's qualifying prospect. I can totally understand that. But we do not have any time to waste."[46]

Yu Hongchen, the vice-president of the Chinese Football Administrative Centre, also stated, "The qualifying stage of 2014 World Cup is just a temporary task for him. Even if the task is failed, Camacho will not lose the job. When we started to find a new coach for the national team, we mainly focus on European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. First of all, they have advanced football concepts, and secondly they have a productive youth training system, which we can learn from. We hope he can help us to find a suitable style."[46]

Camacho managed the team to an 8–0 lost against Brazil in a friendly match on 10 September 2012 which would go on record as China's biggest ever international defeat. This massive loss also succumbed China to their worst ever FIFA ranking (109th).[47]

Camacho then led China during their qualification process for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup whereby losing the first group match 2–1 to Saudi Arabia.[48] After a 5–1 lost against Thailand in a friendly match, Camacho was sacked a week later and with Fu Bo assigned as the caretaker. In light of continued struggles, in 2015, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping expressed the goal of having China's men's national team be the top team in Asia by 2030 and the following year China revealed its ambitious blueprint to be the best in the world by 2050.[49]

The Chinese national team in Tehran before a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Iran

After Camacho, there was Alain Perrin, who finally led China to qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which also included luck from the Thailand–Lebanon encounter, in which Thailand lost but salvaged an important goal by Adisak Kraisorn to help improve China's goal difference with the Lebanese.[50] Soon after that, Perrin led China into a series of friendlies, where some positive results against Macedonia, Kuwait, Paraguay and Thailand boosted some optimism.

In the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Perrin's China was placed in a group with Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and North Korea. China emerged victoriously in all three games, qualified for the knockout stage for the first time since the 2004 edition.[51][52] The Chinese Dragons then lost to host Australia 0–2 with Tim Cahill scoring a brace.[53]

Despite this, China's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers immediately represented a huge problem for the Chinese side; they were held goalless by Hong Kong at home twice, and lost to Qatar. Perrin was sacked for the team's poor performance at the middle of the second round following another goalless draw to Hong Kong,[54] and former coach Gao Hongbo returned to the role on 3 February 2016, where he had to face a task of guiding China in at the expense of North Korea which had a better second-place ranking than China. Gao's first two matches were consecutive wins against Maldives and Qatar, and with North Korea suddenly slipping out against the Philippines, these results secured the team's passage to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and entering the final qualifying stage for the World Cup.

China continued their World Cup hunt by a 2–3 defeat to South Korea;[55] and a goalless draw to AFC's then highest ranked Iran at home.[56] However, China followed that with a 0–1 loss at home to Syria and 0–2 away to Uzbekistan next month. Gao Hongbo resigned. His team had been winless in the first four matches of the final qualifying stage for the World Cup, including a home loss to Syria which was criticised by a number of fans.[57]

Chinese players after win against Thailand at 2019 AFC Asian Cup Round of 16

On 22 October 2016, Marcello Lippi was appointed manager of the team ahead for the last remaining matches.[58] A match saw China defeat South Korea for the first time in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament, amidst the heat of tensions over South Korea's deployment of THAAD.[59] However, China's away loss to Iran and a 2–2 draw to Syria meant China was unable to compete with and dragged behind by Syria who managed a 2–2 draw with Iran and not to be qualified for the 2018 World Cup under Lippi's tenure, but improvements could be seen following two late wins over Uzbekistan and Qatar.[60]

Lippi led the side during the final stage of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, where China won 2–1 to Kyrgyzstan and 3–0 to Philippines, before losing 2–0 to group leaders South Korea on 16 January.[61] China then beat Thailand 2–1 to earn a place in the quarter-finals, where it was knocked 3–0 out by Iran; Lippi subsequently confirmed his departure from the team.[62]

Another Italian and former Ballon d'Or winner, Fabio Cannavaro was appointed as the next China's manager in conjunction with coaching Guangzhou Evergrande but he stepped down after only two matches.[63]

Lacked of option in searching for a new coach, CFA re-appointed Marcello Lippi.[64] To improve the team, China had begun a series of naturalization on foreign-based players, with Nico Yennaris, an English-born Cypriot,[65] and Tyias Browning, another English-born player, being naturalized.[66] Subsequently, Elkeson, a Brazilian player with no Chinese ancestry, was naturalized.[67] Despite the process of naturalization, the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification for China proved to be rockier than expected, the team could only beat the Maldives and Guam, before being held goalless in the Philippines and followed with a denting 1–2 away lost to Syria, and Lippi resigned as coach.[68]

2002 FIFA World Cup ace Li Tie was appointed as China's head coach on 2 January 2020.[69] Trailing behind Syria by five points before Li took charge, China were still unable to reclaim their first place but nonetheless managed to win all of their remaining fixtures, including an important 2–0 win over the Philippines and notably a 3–1 win over Syria to guarantee them as the best second-placed team, thus reaching the third round.[70][71]

In the third round, China shared Group B with Asian powerhouses Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia, alongside Oman and Vietnam. The Chinese started poorly with two losses to Australia and Japan in Doha due to the COVID-19 pandemic at home preventing the country from hosting.[72][73] After this poor start, China salvaged five points in the next four matches, including a hard-fought 3–2 win over Vietnam and two 1–1 draws to Oman and especially Australia, all occurring in Sharjah, the UAE.[74][75] However, despite these improvements, Li Tie was sacked on 2 December 2021 amidst heavy criticism.[76]

After Li Tie's resignation, his World Cup teammate Li Xiaopeng took the head coach position with immense pressure.[77] China's first game under Li Xiaopeng, however, was a 0–2 away loss to Japan in Saitama, effectively ending China's hopes of finishing in the top two and could only rely on the play-offs.[78] Yet, on 1 February 2022, coinciding with the traditional Lunar New Year in China, the Chinese stumbled to a shock 1–3 away loss to Vietnam in Hanoi, officially extending China's hunt for a second World Cup appearance to 24 years.[79] This agonising defeat, the first in Chinese football history to its southern neighbour on a special day for both nations, triggered widespread public criticism and condemnation among Chinese fans.[80] With their World Cup hopes completely lost, China grabbed a solitary point coming from a 1–1 draw with the Saudis before losing to Oman 0–2 in Muscat, finishing fifth with two more points than Vietnam.

After poor forms in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifications, China took part in the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship under interim manager Aleksandar Janković. Within the leadership of the Serbian, China won four points, finishing third after a 1–0 win over Hong Kong, though for the first time in 12 years, China did not lose to Japan away.[81] Because of this impressive result, Janković was named the permanent coach of the China national team in 2023, with the aim to guide China to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[82]

China's rivalry with Japan was exemplified after their 3–1 defeat in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup Final on home soil.[89] The subsequent rioting by Chinese fans at the Workers' Stadium was said to be provoked by controversial officiating during the tournament and the heightened anti-Japanese sentiment at the time.

Another rivalry is with neighbour South Korea who China played 27 matches against between 1978 and 2010, without winning a single match. The media coined the term "Koreaphobia" to describe this phenomenon, but China finally registered its first win against South Korea on 10 February 2010, winning 3–0 during the 2010 East Asian Football Championship and eventually going on to win the tournament.

A rivalry with Hong Kong has been created due to political tensions as well as issues during 2018 World Cup qualification. With Hong Kong fans booing the Chinese national anthem, which Hong Kong share with China, 2018 World Cup qualifier matches were also very tense with both matches resulting in 0–0 draws.

The rivalry with Uzbekistan is a recent development, but also stemmed from previous results which saw China suffered shock defeats to the hand of Uzbekistan in several competitive football games. The two nations first met each other in the final for the 1994 Asian Games, where Uzbekistan, with a squad depleted due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, stunned China with a 4–2 win to claim gold in Uzbekistan's debut in any major football tournament; the game had been accused of match-fixing, though evidence have yet to emerge.[90]

This was soon repeated again in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup, which was Uzbekistan's debut in a major competitive football tournament, which China suffered a blowing 0–2 defeat to the Uzbeks, with both goals scored in the dying times right in what would be Uzbekistan's first-ever Asian Cup fixture. Since then, Uzbekistan has frequently become a problematic opponent for China, with China often lost more than won in competitive games against the Uzbeks.[91] China has never beaten Uzbekistan in Uzbek soil, with all two visiting trips ended in defeats for the Chinese.

China  v  Sweden

5 January 2024 (2024-01-05) Friendly	China	v	Sweden	TBD, United Arab Emirates
--:-- UTC+8				Stadium: TBD

China  v  Tajikistan

13 January 2024 (2024-01-13) AFC Asian Cup	China	v	Tajikistan	Doha, Qatar
17:30 UTC+3				Stadium: Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium

Lebanon  v  China

17 January 2024 (2024-01-17) AFC Asian Cup	Lebanon	v	China	Doha, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3				Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium

Qatar  v  China

22 January 2024 (2024-01-22) AFC Asian Cup	Qatar	v	China	Al Rayyan, Qatar
18:00 UTC+3				Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium

Singapore  v  China

21 March 2024 (2024-03-21) World Cup qualification	Singapore	v	China	Kallang, Singapore
--:--				Stadium: National Stadium

China  v  Singapore

26 March 2024 (2024-03-26) World Cup qualification	China	v	Singapore	China
--:-- UTC+8

China  v  Thailand

6 June 2024 (2024-06-06) World Cup qualification	China	v	Thailand	China
--:-- UTC+8

South Korea  v  China

11 June 2024 (2024-06-11) World Cup qualification	South Korea	v	China	South Korea
--:-- UTC+9

• ¹ : Non FIFA 'A' international match

As of 13.October 2023

#	Name	Period	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	Win %	Achievements
1	Li Fenglou	1951–1952	1	0	0	1	0	4	00.00%
2	Ke Lun	1956	1	1	0	0	1	0	100.00%
3	Dai Linjing	1957	4	1	1	2	5	7	25.00%
4	Chen Chengda	1958–1962	7	4	0	3	14	8	57.14%
5	Nian Weisi	1963	13	7	3	3	26	11	53.85%
6	Fang Renqiu	1964	0	0	0	0	0	0	00.00%
7	Nian Weisi (2nd time)	1965–1973	28	19	6	3	97	40	67.86%
8	Nian Weisi (3rd time)	1974–1976	27	14	5	8	58	40	51.85%	Third place at the 1976 AFC Asian Cup
9	Zhang Honggen	1977	10	6	1	3	20	12	60.00%
10	Nian Weisi (4th time)	1978	14	8	1	5	25	12	57.14%	Bronze medal at the 1978 Asian Games
11	Zhang Honggen (2nd time)	1979	0	0	0	0	0	0	00.00%
12	Nian Weisi (5th time)	1980	5	2	2	1	11	4	40.00%
13	Su Yongshun	1980–1982	20	9	5	6	20	18	45.00%
14	Zhang Honggen (3rd time)	1982	10	3	5	2	11	10	30.00%
15	Zeng Xuelin	1983–1985	42	24	6	12	99	35	57.14%	Runners-up of the 1984 AFC Asian Cup
16	Nian Weisi (6th time)	1985–1986	26	14	7	5	44	24	53.85%
17	Gao Fengwen	1986–1990	56	27	13	16	112	40	48.21%	Fourth place at the 1988 AFC Asian Cup
18	Xu Genbao	1991–1992	0	0	0	0	0	0	00.00%
*	Chen Xirong (caretaker)	1992	5	3	0	2	9	10	60.00%
19	Klaus Schlappner	1992–1993	25	9	6	10	35	27	36.00%	Third place at the 1992 AFC Asian Cup
20	Qi Wusheng	1994–1997	55	27	13	15	97	60	49.09%	Silver medal at the 1994 Asian Games
21	Bobby Houghton	1997–1999	17	10	3	4	36	15	58.82%	Bronze medal at the 1998 Asian Games
*	Jin Zhiyang (caretaker)	2000	5	5	0	0	31	0	100.00%
22	Bora Milutinović	2000–2002	46	20	11	15	75	50	43.48%	Group stage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Fourth place at the 2000 AFC Asian Cup
*	Shen Xiangfu (caretaker)	2002	3	1	2	0	5	3	33.33%
23	Arie Haan	2002–2004	30	17	7	6	52	22	56.67%	Runners-up of the 2004 AFC Asian Cup
24	Zhu Guanghu	2005–2007	27	9	6	12	35	37	33.33%	Winners of the 2005 East Asian Football Championship
25	Vladimir Petrović	2007–2008	18	6	7	5	28	16	33.33%	Third place at the 2008 East Asian Football Championship
*	Yin Tiesheng (caretaker)	2008–2009	6	2	0	4	11	12	33.33%
26	Gao Hongbo	2009–2011	38	24	10	4	65	31	63.16%	Winners of the 2010 East Asian Football Championship
27	José Antonio Camacho	2011–2013	20	7	2	11	23	31	35.00%
*	Fu Bo (caretaker)	2013–2014	9	4	4	1	18	11	44.44%	Runners-up of the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup
28	Alain Perrin	2014–2016	25	11	10	4	45	18	44.00%	Quarter-Finals at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup Runners-up of the 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup
29	Gao Hongbo (2nd time)	2016	8	3	1	4	12	9	37.50%	Qualified – 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round
30	Marcello Lippi	2016–2019	30	10	9	11	35	41	33.33%	Third place of the 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship Quarter-Finals at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup
*	Fabio Cannavaro (caretaker)	2019	2	0	0	2	0	2	00.00%
31	Marcello Lippi	2019	6	4	1	1	16	2	66.67%
32	Li Tie	2019–2021	13	6	2	5	27	15	46.2%	Third place of the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
33	Li Xiaopeng	2021–2022	4	0	1	3	2	8	0.00%
*	Aleksandar Janković (caretaker)	2022	3	1	1	1	1	3	33.33%	Third place of the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
34	Aleksandar Janković	2023–	8	3	2	3	11	6	34.50%

The following 26 players were called up for the friendly matches in October 2023.[93]

• Opposition:  Vietnam,  Uzbekistan
• Match dates: 10–16 October 2023

Caps and goals are correct as of 16 October 2023, after the match against  Uzbekistan.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Yan Junling	(1991-01-28) 28 January 1991	51	0	Shanghai Port
23	1GK	Wang Dalei	(1989-01-10) 10 January 1989	28	0	Shandong Taishan
30	1GK	Ma Zhen	(1998-06-01) 1 June 1998	0	0	Shanghai Shenhua
2	2DF	Jiang Guangtai	(1994-05-30) 30 May 1994	20	1	Shanghai Port
3	2DF	Zhu Chenjie	(2000-08-23) 23 August 2000	20	1	Shanghai Shenhua
4	2DF	Li Lei	(1992-05-30) 30 May 1992	10	0	Beijing Guoan
18	2DF	Yeljan Shinar	(1999-06-09) 9 June 1999	1	0	Nantong Zhiyun
19	2DF	Liu Yang	(1995-06-17) 17 June 1995	19	0	Shandong Taishan
24	2DF	Wu Shaocong	(2000-03-20) 20 March 2000	5	0	Gençlerbirliği
26	2DF	Jiang Shenglong	(2000-12-24) 24 December 2000	2	0	Shanghai Shenhua
27	2DF	He Yupeng	(1999-12-05) 5 December 1999	5	0	Dalian Pro
6	3MF	Wang Shangyuan	(1993-06-02) 2 June 1993	8	0	Henan
8	3MF	Li Ke	(1993-05-24) 24 May 1993	10	0	Beijing Guoan
10	3MF	Xie Pengfei	(1993-06-29) 29 June 1993	11	0	Wuhan Three Towns
13	3MF	Wang Qiuming	(1993-01-09) 9 January 1993	4	1	Tianjin Jinmen Tiger
14	3MF	Chen Pu	(1997-01-15) 15 January 1997	6	0	Shandong Taishan
15	3MF	Wu Xi	(1989-02-19) 19 February 1989	85	9	Shanghai Shenhua
21	3MF	Dai Wai Tsun	(1999-07-25) 25 July 1999	8	0	Shanghai Shenhua
22	3MF	Gao Tianyi	(1998-07-01) 1 July 1998	3	0	Beijing Guoan
7	4FW	Wu Lei	(1991-11-19) 19 November 1991	87	31	Shanghai Port
9	4FW	Ai Kesen	(1989-07-13) 13 July 1989	18	4	Chengdu Rongcheng
11	4FW	Wei Shihao	(1995-04-08) 8 April 1995	22	3	Wuhan Three Towns
20	4FW	Fang Hao	(2000-01-03) 3 January 2000	5	0	Beijing Guoan
28	4FW	Xie Weijun	(1997-11-14) 14 November 1997	1	0	Tianjin Jinmen Tiger
29	4FW	Tan Long	(1988-04-01) 1 April 1988	13	2	Changchun Yatai

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Liu Dianzuo	(1990-06-25) 25 June 1990	3	0	Wuhan Three Towns	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
DF	Zhang Linpeng	(1989-05-09) 9 May 1989	98	6	Shanghai Port	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
DF	Wang Shenchao	(1989-02-08) 8 February 1989	21	0	Shanghai Port	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
DF	Deng Hanwen	(1995-01-08) 8 January 1995	15	0	Wuhan Three Towns	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
DF	Gao Zhunyi	(1995-08-21) 21 August 1995	14	0	Wuhan Three Towns	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
DF	Li Shuai	(1995-06-18) 18 June 1995	2	0	Shanghai Port	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
DF	Ming Tian	(1995-04-08) 8 April 1995	5	0	Tianjin Jinmen Tiger	v.  Palestine, 20 June 2023
DF	Ren Hang	(1989-02-23) 23 February 1989	32	1	Wuhan Three Towns	v.  New Zealand, 23 March 2023INJ
DF	Liu Yiming	(1995-02-28) 28 February 1995	13	0	Wuhan Three Towns	v.  New Zealand, 23 March 2023
DF	Li Ang	(1993-09-15) 15 September 1993	8	0	Shanghai Port	v.  New Zealand, 23 March 2023
MF	Xu Xin	(1994-04-19) 19 April 1994	12	1	Shanghai Port	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
MF	Zhang Jiaqi	(1991-12-09) 9 December 1991	7	0	Zhejiang	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
MF	Lin Liangming	(1997-06-04) 4 June 1997	5	2	Dalian Pro	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
MF	Sun Guowen	(1993-09-30) 30 September 1993	4	0	Shandong Taishan	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
MF	Liu Binbin	(1993-06-16) 16 June 1993	14	1	Shandong Taishan	v.  Palestine, 20 June 2023
MF	He Chao	(1995-04-19) 19 April 1995	7	0	Wuhan Three Towns	v.  New Zealand, 23 March 2023
FW	Wang Ziming	(1996-08-05) 5 August 1996	5	0	Beijing Guoan	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
FW	Ba Dun	(1995-09-16) 16 September 1995	3	1	Tianjin Jinmen Tiger	v.  Syria, 12 September 2023
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension

Most manager appearances

Gao Fengwen: 56 (1986-1990)

China has only appeared at one World Cup with the appearance being in the 2002 FIFA World Cup where they finished bottom of the group which included a 4–0 loss to Brazil.[95]

China's FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year		Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930		Did not enter									Declined participation
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958		Did not qualify									3	1	1	1	4	5
1962		Did not enter									Declined participation
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982		Did not qualify									12	7	2	3	19	8
1986											6	4	1	1	23	2
1990											11	7	0	4	18	9
1994											8	6	0	2	18	4
1998											14	8	3	3	24	16
2002		Group stage	31st	3	0	0	3	0	9		14	12	1	1	38	5
2006		Did not qualify									6	5	0	1	14	1
2010											8	3	3	2	14	4
2014											8	5	0	3	23	9
2018											18	8	5	5	35	11
2022											18	7	4	7	39	22
2026		To be determined									To be determined
Total		Group stage	1/22	3	0	0	3	0	9		126	73	20	33	269	96

Year		Result	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1900 to 1928		Did not enter
1936		First round	12	1	0	0	1	0	2
1948			14	1	0	0	1	0	4
1952 to 1956		Withdrew after qualifying
1960 to 1976		Not an IOC member
1980 to 1984		Did not qualify
1988		First round	14	3	0	1	2	0	5
Total		3/25	-	5	0	1	4	0	11

For 1992 to 2016, see China national under-23 football team

Year		Result	Rank	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951		Did not enter
1954		Did not enter
1958		Did not enter
1962		Did not enter
1966		Did not enter
1970		Did not enter
1974		First round	10	3	1	0	2	7	4
1978		Third place	3	7	5	0	2	16	5
1982		Quarter-finals	7	4	2	1	1	4	3
1986			8	4	2	1	1	10	7
1990			6	4	2	0	2	8	4
1994		Runners-up	2	7	5	1	1	16	8
1998		Third place	3	8	6	0	2	24	7
Total*		7/13	-	37	23	3	11	85	38

* Including 1998 onwards (until 2010)

For 2002 to 2018, see China national under-23 football team