China's national football team suffered a critical 2-0 defeat to Australia in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, leaving their tournament aspirations hanging by a thread. Played before a record home crowd of 70,588 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, the match exposed defensive vulnerabilities that could prove costly in the final stretch of qualifiers.
Australia's Jackson Irvine opened the scoring in the 16th minute after capitalizing on a defensive slip by Chinese midfielder Huang Zhengyu. The visitors doubled their lead midway through the first half when goalkeeper Wang Dalei mishandled Nishan Velupillay's close-range strike.
Head coach Branko Ivankovic's halftime substitution of naturalized debutant Sai Erjiniao revitalized China's attack, but repeated attempts failed to break Australia's defense. The result leaves China bottom of Group C with six points, requiring decisive victories against Indonesia and Bahrain in June to maintain qualifying hopes.
The Socceroos' coach Tony Popovic acknowledged China's improved second-half performance: "It took us time to regain control after their tactical changes." China now faces the challenge of overturning their group standing, with only the top two teams earning direct World Cup qualification.
