In times past, the Chinese men's soccer team was arguably synonymous with being teased as unreliable among Chinese fans, with people making jokes about the national team in almost every industry. However, things have changed dramatically in recent years. It's not that the Chinese men's soccer team has improved so much, but rather that other major ball sports have begun to see a noticeable drop in standards as well. China's women's soccer team and China's men's basketball team, which once had a very good level in the world, are now also causing gradual disappointment and even despair. The future of China's major ball sports is in crisis.
The national soccer team has never been satisfactory in recent years, and the women's team, which has always acted as a tool-man for mocking the national soccer team, is now starting to lose hope for its fans. At the Asian Games, China lost 3-4 to Japan's second-string squad, but note that this was not an unexpected defeat, but more of a continuation of the 2023 failure. At the World Cup, China's women's soccer team lost to Denmark and lost 1-6 to England, with the team failing to advance in the group stage. A similar situation happened with the men's basketball team. In the men's basketball semifinals of the Asian Games, China lost to the Philippines second team 76-77. China's men's basketball team also had a dismal record at the Men's Basketball World Cup a little over a month ago. They missed the Paris Olympics with one win and four losses in five games.
China's women's soccer team and China's men's basketball team were once the absolute top teams in Asia, while China's men's soccer team was never the strongest in Asia. Therefore, through this comparison, we can better see the signs of decline in the women's soccer and men's basketball teams. In addition, even in the big game, of which the Chinese are most proud, the Chinese women's volleyball team is beginning to disappoint. After three consecutive losses, this team missed the Olympics. At one time, the Chinese women's volleyball team was the strongest in the world, but now getting into the Olympics is a problem.
Accordingly, the Chinese women's basketball team and the Chinese men's volleyball team, which have been less present, are playing well, with the men's volleyball team winning second place in the Asian Games, the women's basketball team winning second place in the World Cup, winning the Asian Cup, and then going on to compete with Japan for the Asian gold medal.
We did win a lot of gold medals at the Asian Games and even the Olympics, but viewers are obviously more interested in the results of the big team events. Unfortunately, China is getting worse in this regard.
Of the three, soccer and basketball are two of the biggest fan favorites, but now, with the exception of the Chinese women's basketball team, the other three national brands have become uncompetitive in Asia. The Chinese men's basketball team is ranked 11th in Asia, constantly losing to the Philippines, and the Chinese women's soccer team struggles to compete with Japan. What makes fans even more dissatisfied is that the Chinese men's basketball team is now starting to move closer to the national soccer team as well, with the Olympics no longer accessible and Asia losing to more countries.
China has been able to achieve significant results in some individual sports by increasing its investment. However, in the three major sports, China has failed to achieve significant results despite its heavy investment. In order to achieve a breakthrough, China may need to learn from the experience of Japan, which has achieved great success in soccer and basketball in the past decades.
