China at the FIFA World Cup

China first entered World Cup qualification in 1957 in an attempt to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup and has made its first appearance in 2002. Despite a respectable performance against Costa Rica, they lost all of their games without scoring a goal with a goal difference of 0-9.[1][2][3]

Qualification

FIFA World Cup qualification - Rank 26 in November 2024

As of 27 March 2025
# Year M W D L GF GA GD Points
1 1930 FIFA World Cup qualification DNE
2 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification DNE
3 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification DNE
4 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification DNE
5 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification DNE
6 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 3 1 1 1 4 5 -1 4
7 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) DNE
8 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) DNE
9 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) DNE
10 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) DNE
11 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) DNE
12 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 12 7 2 3 19 8 +11 23
13 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 6 4 1 1 23 2 +21 13
14 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 11 7 0 4 18 9 +9 21
15 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 8 6 0 2 18 4 +14 18
16 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 14 8 3 3 24 16 +8 27
17 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 14 12 1 1 38 5 +33 37
18 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 6 5 0 1 14 1 +13 15
19 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 8 3 3 2 14 4 +10 12
20 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 8 5 0 3 23 9 +14 15
21 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 18 8 5 5 35 11 +24 29
22 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 18 7 4 7 39 22 +17 25
23 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 13 4 2 7 15 28 -13 14
Total 13/23 140 77 22 41 284 124 +160 253

Overall record

Qualification record
Year Round Position M W D L GF GA M W D L GF GA Link
1930 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member Link
1934 Did not enter Declined participation Link
1938 Link
1950 Link
1954 Link
1958 Did not qualify 3 1 1 1 4 5 Link
1962 Did not enter Declined participation Link
1966 Link
1970 Link
1974 Link
1978 Link
1982 Did not qualify 12 7 2 3 19 8 Link
1986 6 4 1 1 23 2 Link
1990 11 7 0 4 18 9 Link
1994 8 6 0 2 18 4 Link
1998 14 8 3 3 24 16 Link
2002 Group stage 31st 3 0 0 3 0 9 14 12 1 1 38 5 Link
2006 Did not qualify 6 5 0 1 14 1 Link
2010 8 3 3 2 14 4 Link
2014 8 5 0 3 23 9 Link
2018 18 8 5 5 35 11 Link
2022 18 7 4 7 39 22 Link
2026 16 5 2 9 16 29 Link
2030 To be determined
2034
Total Group stage 1/23 3 0 0 3 0 9 142 78 22 42 285 125 Link

FIFA World Cup squads and matches

2002 South Korea/Japan

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Brazil 3 3 0 0 11 3 +8 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Turkey 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 4
3  Costa Rica 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 4
4  China 3 0 0 3 0 9 −9 0
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
China 0–2 Costa Rica
Report
  • Gómez 61'
  • Wright 65'

Brazil 4–0 China
Report
Attendance: 36,750
Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden)

Turkey 3–0 China
Report
Attendance: 43,605

Squads

Record players

Eight players were fielded in all three of China PR's World Cup matches in 2002.

Rank Player Matches
1 Hao Haidong 3
Jiang Jin 3
Li Tie 3
Li Weifeng 3
Li Xiaopeng 3
Qu Bo 3
Wu Chengying 3
Xu Yunlong 3

See also

References

  1. ^ "China's road to the finals". April 2, 2002 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ^ "China marks 20 years since reaching only World Cup as wait set to go on". South China Morning Post. October 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "CHINA FACTS & FIGURES 2002 - china.org.cn". www.china.org.cn.

Head-to-head record