ANGRY Chinese football fans lashed out at their country’s “shameful” record today, after a 3-1 defeat at Vietnam ended any slim hope they had of reaching the 2022 World Cup.

The heavy loss caused outrage on social media as millions took to platforms such as the Twitter-like Weibo to air their grievances against the national team, who has long struggled to live up to expectations.

President Xi Jinping wants China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but the humiliating loss left the country one place off the bottom of their qualifying group after eight games.

Vietnam is still bottom, but finally gets points on the board.

Social media hashtags, including “Why does the national football team keep losing” and “National team, give us a refund”, received hundreds of millions of views on Weibo as people piled in.

“If you tied a piece of braised pork to the goal, a dog will kick the ball with more enthusiasm than them,” complained one user.

“We should withdraw from FIFA and stop bringing shame on our country,” suggested another Weibo user sarcastically.

Despite Xi’s ambitions, China has qualified for the World Cup only once, in 2002, when the team failed to win a point or score a goal.

The latest disappointment is especially bitter as it comes on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

An old interview with former international Fan Zhiyi, given after China was crushed 5-1 in a friendly by Thailand in 2013, made the rounds online showing what appears to be a prophetic warning.

“After losing to Thailand, we will lose to Vietnam and then, Myanmar. And then there will be no one to lose to,” said Fan in the now-viral interview. – AFP, February 2, 2022.