Chinese media fears being overtaken by a Southeast Asian team

Chinese media, particularly Sina Sports, have voiced worries about their national team potentially being overtaken by a Southeast Asian side in the FIFA standings.

The well-known sports outlet Sina Sports recently published an article expressing deep concern as the Chinese national team faces the threat of being overtaken by Thailand in the FIFA rankings, which is seen as a significant blow to the status of Chinese football in Asia.

According to the analysis by Sina Sports, since the conclusion of the third round of the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers in June 2025, the Chinese national team has not played any official matches for over six months. Except for sending a youth squad to the 2025 East Asian Cup in July, all training camps and friendlies have been paused, causing the team's FIFA points to steadily decline.

In the FIFA ranking released at the end of 2025, China has only 1249.06 points, ranking 93rd worldwide and 14th in Asia, the lowest since 2014. Sina Sports commented, “this is an alarming sign showing the national team is gradually losing competitiveness in the region.”

Meanwhile, Thailand, traditionally considered a mid-tier Asian team, is rising strongly, trailing China by just 5.79 points (1243.27 points, 96th globally). According to Sina, if China does not return to competition soon, the national team could completely lose its position to Thailand after the FIFA match days in March 2026.

The article points out that Thailand will host Turkmenistan in the final match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, a game with a coefficient of 25. If they win, the Southeast Asian team will gain about 8.87 points, surpassing China in the FIFA rankings.

“Chinese football cannot afford to remain dormant. The national team’s lack of international matches, while regional rivals continue to compete, is the reason for the ranking decline,” Sina Sports commented.

Notably, Sina also cited AFC data showing that the Thai League has surpassed the Chinese Super League by 7.972 pointsin the technical rankings, indicating that Thai football is steadily strengthening its position in the region, while China is gradually losing influence both at the club and national team levels.