China Humiliated! 0–5 Loss to Palestine, First in 60 Years—Only the Clock Stopped More Goals

0:02 Chinese soccer can't even beat dogs. Chinese soccer is worse than dogs. China's national team, have you no shame? How many years have we given you? Your intelligence isn't even at the level of a child old enough to be held criminally responsible. China's national team, you're all shameless. Yan Junling, get out. Liu Yang, get out. Quit. All of you quit. Here's a really dark joke for you. China lost 0 to 5 to Palestine in today's friendly. Oh my god, you heard that right. Palestine's national team, we lost by five goals. On the evening of October 2nd, Beijing time, China's men's national soccer team lost 0 to 5 to Palestine at an international

0:48 invitational tournament in Chongqing. It was an unprecedented thrashing in the two teams' 67-year history of playing each other. Fans at the stadium were so furious, they could barely speak coherently, swearing wildly, and calling out players by name. >> Look, I knew you were terrible, China, but I really underestimated just how terrible you could be. I never imagined you could be this bad. >> Chinese fans know all too well what their men's national team is capable of, but with the match taking place during the National Day holiday, many thought an invitational game against such a weak opponent was clearly a celebration carefully arranged by the authorities to lift spirits and stir up patriotism. They bought tickets hoping to enjoy a moment of national pride, only to suffer

1:33 a devastating blow. >> On a day when the whole country is celebrating, we got trashed by Palestine, a country at war, ranked even lower than us, and on our own turf. I honestly can't understand it. You expect us to pay to watch a game like this? These tickets cost over 500 yuan. Give us our money back. I really don't get it. What kind of new formation or tactics is our national team supposed to be trying? One group gifted them three goals in the first half, and another gifted them two in the second. There was no teamwork throughout the game. Other than making fans sick, I honestly don't know what they were doing. What's the point of using a match as training when there's

2:18 no coordination at all? Honestly, I don't think they should even charge admission for a friendly like this. If your goal isn't to win, what's the point of fans shouting and cheering you on? Well, whatever. After that zero-to-five result, I've already booked my flight home. Whoever wants to watch the next match can watch it. >> I've heard conditions in Palestine are extremely tough, and they barely managed to put this team together. We've got everything, foreign coaches, team doctors, even personal chefs fit for royalty. Every service is covered. All their meals and accommodations are taken care of, and they lack nothing. Yet, they let in five goals at home. >> I've spent all these years trying to figure out how low our national team can

3:03 sink. Today, I gave up because I've realized there's no bottom. >> Over more than 60 years, the two teams have met seven times, with China winning five and drawing two, scoring 17 goals and conceding just two. China either won seven to zero in 1966, but in the October 2nd match, China's defense collapsed in the first half, conceding three goals in a row, while its possession for the match was below 40%. Still, many fans have grown tough enough to express their understanding of the team in all kinds of unconventional ways, even amid overwhelming disappointment and anger. Stop criticizing the national team. They're not completely useless. At least they brought joy and hope to the Palestinian people, helping them in

3:49 their hour of need. Give them a thumbs up. Losing 0 to 5 just shows how big-hearted our national team is. Many people left sarcastic comments online. I checked it eight times to make sure it really was Palestine, not Pakistan. Congratulations to our Palestinian buddies on that boost to their goal difference. We really took the friendly in friendly match to a whole new level. Another wrote, "There's really nothing surprising about it. At this level, losing to anyone is no shock. Ultimately, it's all America's fault." >> Can someone tell me where Palestine ranks in the world? Are you sure they're not the world champions? Why was beating us so easy for them?

4:35 >> Before the match, we were ranked 93rd in the world and they were 94th. Afterward, we're 97th. Can most of us even name more than 90 countries? What really makes me angry is that once Palestine went up 4 to 0, they started bringing on substitutes. They took off five of their starters one after another. And even then, 4 minutes into stoppage time, after the 90 minutes were up, they scored against us again. They brought on five substitutes in the second half. Normally, wouldn't that give you a chance to score a goal or two? Fine, you couldn't even score one. But with the game almost over, you still let one of their substitutes put another past you. The point is, Palestine was the easy opponent you picked. You invited them. You said you were preparing for Syria in next year's Asia Cup group stage, that Syria plays very

5:22 much like Palestine. So, this was targeted training. You had your excuse ready, and then you got beaten 5 to 0. After this loss, we're down to 15th in Asia. I really want to ask, who else can you possibly lose to next? At the pre-match press conference, China's head coach Shaoji Xia sounded full of confidence. I don't think they need any more encouragement, do they? Every one of them is full of desire and fighting spirit. I believe there's no need to say much. They'll show it all on the field. After the match, Shaoji publicly apologized. There's nothing more to explain. We accept all criticism and hope to play well in the next match. Shockingly, the team's veterans and key players all disappeared after the match, avoiding the cameras and leaving

6:08 17-year-old newcomer Zhao Song Yan to face the media alone. The move immediately unleashed a wave of outrage online. Zhao Song Yan is reportedly in his final year at Tsinghua University High School. He was called up to the national team for the first time this year and only came on as a second half substitute in this match. He looked lost in front of the cameras and said helplessly, "I think everyone's attitude in this game was really good and the effort we put in out there was solid, too. We just didn't handle some of the details as well as we should have. Hopefully, we can come away with good results in the next one." Zhao also referred to a gentle assessment of the team's performance. "I think we didn't put enough pressure on our opponents in either half. We made it too easy for them to receive the ball, pass it, and do whatever they

6:53 wanted. I think we need to increase the intensity of our pressing." Making a minor take the blame anger people across the sports world and online. A prominent mainland commentator said, "After a historic 0-5 thrashing, these veteran internationals sent a kid out to face the cameras? Judging by both their ability and their sense of responsibility, many of the players in this training camp don't deserve another national team call-up." Many people also condemned the players online. "They take the credit when they win and pass the blame when they lose. These veterans show less responsibility than a high school student." Another wrote, "What's so impressive about picking on a kid? Have the captain and all the key players turned into turtles? They pulled their heads into their shells and sent a child out to take the abuse. Disband the team. Haven't they

7:40 spent enough years embarrassing us internationally? On October 3rd, China loses 0 to 5, but sends a young player out for interviews, predictably reached the top of Weibo's trending searches. >> Chartered buses for road trips, chartered planes for overseas trips, private grounds for training, entire hotels for accommodation, and guaranteed losses for matches. 10 defeats in 10 games, ninth-rate skills, mocked from eight directions. Seven parts humiliation they can't hide, all six senses lost, five flavors of mixed emotions, battered on all four sides. Seafood for three meals a day, yet two legs with no strength. Ending in one crushing defeat and a big fat zero. Can

8:26 you guess who they are? >> Our national team will lose to absolutely anyone. They even ended up losing to an amateur team from Vietnam. Some of those players were fishermen, others were truck drivers. They put together this amateur side and actually beat our national team. We spent over 100 million yuan hiring coaches and tens of millions of yuan on foreign recruits. The so-called naturalized players. Just one naturalized player cost us at least 100 to 200 million yuan over a few years. And the result? We can't even beat a hastily assembled amateur team from Vietnam. Why is Chinese soccer so terrible? The first reason is corruption. From the head of the soccer association right down to an ordinary player, corruption is everywhere. It keeps talented players out of teams because they don't have the money to

9:12 bribe their way through every step. They've even corrupted youth soccer. They actually ordered the QY team to lose to Guangzhou. They were making children fix matches. Tell me, when things have reached this point, how can they win? Of course they can't, right? >> Our national team has once again lived up to expectations. In the match that just ended, China was thrashed 0 to 5 by Palestine. Why was it so bad? Why has Chinese soccer remained this bad after decades of professionalization? When it comes to the technical side, tactics, and how to play, I could never out-argue the experts. I'll just give you some real verifiable figures. You can decide for yourselves whether these are the reasons. The vlogger noted that professional

9:57 soccer began in China in 1994 and in Japan in 1993, almost at the same time. More than 30 years later, Japan is firmly established in Asia's leading force, while China has slipped from the top tier in Asia to the second and third tiers. Now, it can barely be considered competitive at all. Why? We can start with these figures. In 32 years of professional soccer in China, two major anti-corruption crackdowns brought down a total of 95 association officials, players, referees, and coaches, nearly 100 people in just two sweeps. Meanwhile, in Japan's 33 years of professional soccer, the number of coaches players referees and association officials imprisoned for corruption was zero. That contrast alone goes a long way

10:43 towards explaining the gulf between Chinese and Japanese soccer. In his view, the most fundamental difference lies in the environment that produces soccer players. China's soccer environment is rotten to the core, making any discussion of technique and tactics pointless. In response to the argument that Europe's five major leagues also have corruption, he pointed out that such stars such as Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, and Neymar did not become great players by going clubbing or chasing women every day from the age 17 or 18. They endured grueling struggles to rise from the slums and make their names. Only after becoming famous did they start enjoying life. The same logic applies to Europe's five major leagues. The rice was already cooked before the questionable commercial earnings appeared. In China, people are already

11:28 scrambling to scoop benefits out of the pot before the rice is cooked, while it's still raw. Why then do people who really understand soccer keep blaming tactics, technique, and youth development? He said he dares to discuss these issues because he is an outsider, while those who make their living from soccer dare not touch them. Will they criticize the soccer association's leaders? Will they discuss the wider environment of Chinese soccer? So, they stick to lineups, tactics, and technique. In his view, none of those is a root cause of Chinese soccer's steady decline. Corruption is. Of course, corruption also directly affects the quality of players' training because most of those players were not selected on genuine ability in the first place. >> Take a look at how South Korea's soccer team trains.

12:16 Now look at how our national team trains. I don't know what this drill is supposed to train, but one looks really demanding, while the other looks like they're just messing around. >> Heavy defeat also shook China soccer community. In a video, former international Fan Xiao Dong said, "When did Palestine become a world-class team? Unbelievable. Do we now have to study Palestine? It's exhausting. We have to study every single team. What's going on? This is hardly the first time a Chinese defeat had prompted such mockery. In September 2017, in the third round of matches in the final 12-team Asia qualifying stage for the 2018 World Cup, China's men lost 0 to 1 at home to Syria, which was also experiencing severe turmoil at the time. One person

13:02 joked, "Not every team can call itself born to lose. China's soccer team, professional losers for 30 years, always imitated, never surpassed. We don't score goals, we just move the ball around." Sadly, this match also seemed to shatter many people's illusory patriotic pride. According to Chinese media reports, Palestinian player Dabag made a thumbs down gesture towards the sidelines after scoring in the first half. Since the gesture is commonly seen as a put-down, it sparked controversy on the Chinese internet. On October 3rd, Dabao posted an explanation in Chinese and English on social media. He said it was simply a celebration he had used before. It was not intended to disrespect China's national team, its players, or the Chinese people. Some Chinese social media accounts and users interpreted the gesture as a taunt

13:48 directed at China's team. Others felt the 0-5 defeat deserved more attention than the gesture itself. Some comments were even sharper. Dignity is won at the tip of a sword. Weak teams have no dignity. Another said, "No apology needed. China's team deserved that gesture." As the men's team suffered its crushing defeat, China's women also missed out on a medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asia Games that same day. On October 2nd, they lost 0-1 to South Korea in the bronze medal match. China had earlier lost 0-2 to North Korea in the semifinals, missed out on the final, while South Korea had lost its semifinal 0-2 to host Japan. >> Has anyone thought about this? At the Los Angeles Olympics in a little over a

14:35 year, what ball sport can China still win gold in? Does the double color ball lottery count? In table tennis, whenever China competed, all our opponents could do was work out how to finish second. Now Japan is wiping the floor with our national team. Our women's volleyball team has dropped from first to seventh in the world. And now they've even lost to seventh-ranked Thailand, painfully missing out on Asia's only direct qualifying spot for the Los Angeles Olympics. Then there's badminton. We used to win so many titles we could barely hold them all, and Chinese players made up more than half of the world's top 10. Now the men's singles players have collapsed across the board. The mixed doubles and women's doubles pairs fall apart at the crucial moments,

15:20 leaving men's doubles as the last thing preserving any dignity. We used to joke, "When will our soccer team be like our table tennis, volleyball, and badminton teams?" Well, our wish has finally come true. >> With outrage over the soccer team's defeat still raging, another scandal involving a Chinese athlete made the headlines. On October 1st, in the women's 70 kg judo quarterfinal at the Nagoya Asian Games, 31-year-old Chinese veteran Tang Jing faced 21-year-old rising Japanese star Miki Mayeda. The match erupted into a biting incident that shocked the arena. Shortly after the match began, Mayeda gained the upper hand on the ground and tried to take the contest into groundwork, her specialty. As Tang Jing tried to break free and pull the action out of bounds, she bit Mayeda's left arm, did not let go for a

16:06 full 20 seconds. After getting up, Mayeda signaled to the referee that she was injured, showing the clear teeth marks left by the bite. After reviewing the replay, the referee ruled that Tang Jing had committed unsportsmanlike conduct and disqualified her on the spot. Mayeda advanced, won her next two matches, and took the gold medal. Footage spread across social media, racking up nearly 10 million views in a single day. One Chinese person said, "Those teeth marks are far too obvious. Forgive me, but I can't defend one of our own this time." Another person said the CCP authorities had not only ruined Chinese sports, but also destroyed the morals and consciences of many Chinese people. Who knows how many medals China will still be able to win at the 2028 Olympics? What's true is that the athletes who will compete for the CCP,

16:51 wearing its blood red five-star flag, will themselves become a disgrace. >> [music] [music and bell]