China men's national football team

History

As Republic of China (1913–1949)

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. He invited China (Republic of 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. 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. With the team captain, Tong Fuk Cheung (Chinese: 唐福祥) scoring the only goal and the first international goal for China.

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. 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.

The Chinese Football Association was founded in 1924 and then was first affiliated with FIFA in 1931. 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.

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. The tournament would be officially cancelled while Japan held their own tournament called the 2600th Anniversary Celebrations 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. 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. 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).

Early People's Republic (1950–1979)

The newly instated People's Republic of China reformed CFA before having FIFA acknowledge their 1931 membership on 14 June 1952. 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. In preparation for entering their first FIFA competition, China sent a young squad to train in Hungary in 1954. However, when they entered the 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification process China were knocked out by Indonesia.

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. This sparked a diplomatic argument that had already seen China withdraw from the 1956 Summer Olympics for the same reasons. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Asian underdogs (1980–2008)

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

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. 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. 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. 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.

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).

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. 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. 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.

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. There were an estimated 250 million viewers for the match, the largest single-event sports audience in the country's history at that time.

Stagnation (2009–present)

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." 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. 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."

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."

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).

Team image

The team is known as the "Dragon Team" (Chinese: 龙之队; pinyin: Lóng zhī duì), "Team China" (Chinese: 中国队), the "National Team" (Chinese: 国家队) or "Guózú" (Chinese: 国足, short for Chinese: 国家足球队; pinyin: Guójiā Zúqiú Duì; lit. 'national football team').

China's home kit is traditionally all-red with a white or yellow trim. Their away kit is traditionally an inverted version of the home kit, fully white with a red trim, sometimes is full yellow and red trim. During the 1996 AFC Asian Cup, China employed a third kit which was all blue with a white trim and was used against Saudi Arabia during the tournament. The 2022–24 season marks the first time the team had a turquoise blue away kit, replace the white kit worn in previous seasons. The team has also started to use cooling vests in certain warmer climates. After decades of having Adidas producing the team's kits, China's current kit has been produced and manufactured by Nike since 2015.

Rivalries

China's greatest arch-rival is Japan, this rivalry is fueled by longstanding tensions between the two countries, strained by geopolitical competition and Japan's 20th century invasion of China. In the 21st century the results on the pitch have been overwhelmingly one-sided in Japan's favor. The rivalry was exemplified after their 3–1 defeat in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup Final on home soil. The defeat led to a riot by Chinese fans at the Workers' Stadium, provoked by controversial officiating during the tournament and heightened anti-Japanese sentiment at the time. China has not beaten Japan since March 1998.

Another rival is neighbour South Korea. China has played 27 matches against South Korea 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. Traced further, China met South Korea (then known as Korea) for the first time in 1949 in a friendly in British Hong Kong, where China clinched the first and only win over Korea in 61 years. There is also another political dimension behind the fuelling of this rivalry, mostly because of the long history of wars between the two states. In over 39 official matches since they first played in 1978, China has only won twice.

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 shares with China, the 2018 World Cup qualifier matches were very tense with both matches resulting in 0–0 draws.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win

Draw

Loss

Fixture

2027

1 : Non FIFA 'A' international match

Coaching staff

Coaching history

As of 1 April 2026

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Palestine and New Zealand, Maldives and Tajikistan on 24 September, 27 September, 2 October, and 6 October 2026; respectively.

Caps and goals are as of 9 June 2026, after the match against Thailand.

Recent call-ups

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

Player records

As of 4 June 2026.

Players in bold are still active with China.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

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.

Summer Olympics

For 1992 to 2024, see China national under-23 football team

Asian Games

* Including 1998 onwards (until 2010)

For 2002 to 2022, see China national under-23 football team

Head-to-head record

Since 1924

As of 9 June 2026 after match against Thailand.

Positive Record

Neutral Record

Negative Record

1913–1923

All matches before the founding of Chinese Football Association in 1924 are not counted as A-level match by FIFA:

Honours

Continental

AFC Asian Cup

Runners-up (2): 1984, 2004

Third place (2): 1976, 1992

Asian Games1

Silver medal (1): 1994

Bronze medal (2): 1978, 1998

Regional

EAFF East Asian Cup / EAFF E-1 Football Championship

Champions (2): 2005, 2010

Runners-up (2): 2013, 2015

Third place (6): 2003, 2008, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2025

Far Eastern Games

Gold medal (9): 1915, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1930s, 1934

Silver medal (1): 1913

Friendly

Dunhill Cup (1): 1997

Four Nations Tournament (2): 2000-I, 2000-II

King's Cup (1): 1993

Lunar New Year Cup (1): 1978

Merlion Cup (1): 1986

Quaid-e-Azam International Tournament (1): 1986

Awards

FIFA Best Mover of the Year (1): 2004

AFC National Team of the Year (1): 2001

AFC Asian Cup Fair Play Award (2): 1984, 2004

Summary

Only official honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation).

Notes

Competition organized by OCA, officially not recognized by FIFA.

s Shared titles.