In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping went to a business that makes humanoid robots. There he floated a concept to repair the nation's woeful males's soccer group.

"Can we have robots join the team?" Xi was estimated as stating on the website of Zhiyuan Robotics.

It may be far too late. China will run out World Cup qualifying if it stops working to beat Indonesia on Thursday. Even a triumph may just delay the departure.

What's the issue? China has 1.4 billion people, the globe's second largest economy and won 40 Olympic gold medals last year in Paris to connect the United States. Why can't it find 11 elite guys's soccer gamers?

The federal government touches every aspect of life in China. That top-down control has assisted China end up being the largest manufacturer of whatever from electronics to shoes to steel.

It has actually attempted to run soccer, but that rigid governance hasn't worked.

"What soccer shows is the social and political issues of China," Zhang Feng, a Chinese reporter and analyst, tells The Associated Press. "It ´ s not a totally free society. It does not have the team-level trust that permits players to pass the ball to each other without worrying."

Zhang argues that politics has stalled soccer's growth. And there's added pressure since Xi's a huge fan and has actually guaranteed to resuscitate the video game in the house. Soccer is a world language with its "own grammar," says Zhang, and China does not speak it.

"In China, the more emphasis the leader put on soccer, the more anxious the society gets, the more power the bureaucrats get, and the more corrupt they become," Zhang adds.

After China defeated Thailand 2-1 in 2023, Xi joked with Srettha Thavisin, the Thai prime minister at the time. "I feel luck was a big part of it," Xi said.

The agreement is clear. China has too few quality players at the turf roots, excessive political disturbance from the Communist Party, and there's excessive corruption in the local game.

Wang Xiaolei, another popular Chinese commentator, suggests that soccer clashes with China's top-down governance and the emphasis on rote learning.

"What are we finest at? Dogma," Wang composed in a blog site in 2015. "But football can not be dogmatic. What are we worst at? Inspiring resourcefulness, and cultivating passion."

The most current chapter in China's abysmal men's soccer history was a 7-0 loss last year to geopolitical rival Japan.

"The reality that this defeat can take place and individuals aren ´ t that surprised - regardless of the historical animosity - simply illustrates the problems facing football in China," says Cameron Wilson, a Scot who has worked in China for twenty years and composed thoroughly about the game there.

China has received only one men's World Cup. That was 2002 when it went scoreless and lost all three matches. Soccer's governing body FIFA positions China at No. 94 in its rankings - behind war-torn Syria and ahead of No. 95 Benin.

For perspective: Iceland is the tiniest country to reach the World Cup. Its most current population quote is nearly 400,000.

The site Soccerway tracks worldwide football and does not show a single Chinese gamer in a top European league. The national team's finest gamer is forward Wu Lei, who played for 3 seasons in Spain's La Liga for Espanyol. The club's bulk owner in Chinese.

The 2026 World Cup will have a field of 48 teams, a big increase on the 32 in 2022, yet China still might not make it.

China will be removed from certification if it loses to Indonesia. Even if it wins, China must likewise beat Bahrain on June 10 to have any hope of advancing to Asia's next qualifying stage.

Englishman Rowan Simons has invested nearly 40 years in China and gained fame doing tv commentary in Chinese on English Premier League matches. He also composed the 2008 book "Bamboo Goalposts."

China is benefiting from over the last years that put soccer in schools. But Simons argues that soccer culture grows from volunteers, civil society and club companies, none of which can flourish in China because they are possible oppositions to the rule of the Communist Party.

"In China at the age of 12 or 13, when kids go to middle school, it ´ s understood as the cliff," he states. "Parents might allow their kids to play sports when they ´ re younger, but as quickly as it pertains to middle school the scholastic pressure is on - things like sport go by the wayside."

To be reasonable, the Chinese women's team has actually done better than the men. China finished runner-up in the 1999 Women's World Cup but has faded as European teams have surged with built-in know-how from the men's game. Spain won the 2023 Women's World Cup. China was knocked out early, damaged 6-1 by England in group play.

China has actually succeeded targeting Olympic sports, a few of which are fairly unknown and rely on repeated training more than imagination. Olympic team sports like soccer offer only one medal. So, like lots of countries, China focuses on sports with several medals. In China's case it's diving, table tennis and weightlifting.

"For youths, there's a single worth - testing well," states Zhang, the analyst and reporter. "China would be OK if playing soccer were just about bouncing the ball 1,000 times."

Li Tie, the national group coach for about 2 years starting in January 2020, was in 2015 sentenced to 20 years in prison for bribery and match repairing. Other top administrators have also been accused of corruption.

The graft also encompassed the domestic Super League. Clubs invested millions - maybe billions - on foreign talents backed by many state-owned organizations and, before the collapse of the housing boom, real-estate developers.

The poster child was Guangzhou Evergrande. The eight-time Super League champs, once coached by Italian Marcello Lippi, was expelled from the league and dissolved previously this year, unable to settle its financial obligations.

Zhang says businessmen invested in expert soccer groups as a "political tribute" and pointed out Hui Ka-yan. The embattled genuine estate developer financed the Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club and utilized soccer to win favor from political leaders.

Residential or commercial property giant Evergrande has accumulated financial obligations reported at $300 billion, reflective of China ´ s damaged residential or commercial property segment and the basic health of the economy.

"China ´ s failure at the global level and corruption throughout the game, these are all elements that lead moms and dads away from letting their kids get included," states Simons, who founded a youth soccer club called China Club Football FC.

"Parents take a look at what ´ s going on and concern if they desire their kids to be included. It ´ s sad and discouraging."

Wade reported from Tokyo and Tang from Washington.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer