HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

With a scintillating display of skills and poise beyond his years, China's soccer prodigy Wang Yudong has emerged as a rare silver lining in the country's total failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

As an irrelevant finale of its qualifying journey, Team China's medicore1-0 home win over Bahrain in its final group match on Tuesday did very little to console the heart-broken Chinese fans, after it had already been eliminated from contention for the Cup finals following last week's 1-0 loss to Indonesia.

The country's long-anticipated wait to return to the FIFA marquee tournament, since its sole appearance in 2002, has been delayed by at least another four years, but seems not entirely hopeless, thanks to the emergence of Wang and his peers on the international stage.

The impressive performance of Wang, who scored China's only goal against Bahrain from a second-half penalty to give the host its closing win in Chongqing, has sparked fresh hopes that his generation might help realize the country's dream of another World Cup appearance in the foreseeable future.

"I want to apologize to our fans for failing to emerge from this group. Hopefully, they will keep their faith alive, continue to trust in us and we won't let them down again in 2030," said Wang, who became Team China's youngest ever scorer in a World Cup qualifier at 18 years and 199 days.

"I am afraid this will be the final World Cup qualifier for a lot of older players on the national team. I wanted to win a game for them.

"And for our generation, I hope we can come back stronger from this match," said the talented striker, who has, so far this season, scored eight goals in 13 matches for Chinese Super League club Zhejiang FC.

After finishing with only three wins and seven losses, Team China eventually finished above continental minnow Bahrain, settling for fifth place in the six-team group, where leader Japan and runner-up Australia secured direct qualification berths for the expanded 48-team 2026 Cup finals to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.

Respective third- and fourth-ranked Saudi Arabia and Indonesia advanced into the Asian qualifiers' fourth stage alongside four other teams, where two more direct tickets to the finals will be up for grabs.

As the No 94 team on FIFA's world ranking, and the 14th side in Asia, Team China's knockout during the 18-team third stage was a disappointing, yet technically fair outcome.

It was the way the squad, led by controversial coach Branko Ivankovic, squandered early leads in multiple matches that stung the most — particularly its 2-1 home loss to Saudi Arabia in September, having led 1-0, and playing with an extra man.

Former players and pundits alike, however, have reiterated that it is the stagnant talent development, stemming from inefficient junior training to the lack of investment in homegrown youngsters at the club level, that should take the blame for the poor Cup qualifying campaign.

"I think it's meaningless now to debate whether the coach adopted the right tactics for the team in a certain match," former Chinese international Yang Chen said during live commentary of China's 1-0 loss to Indonesia last week.

"We are just not good enough and simply do not have enough talented players to make a strong unit, even on the international stage.

"The key for a comeback is to invest more in youth training, from the amateur ranks at the grassroots level, all the way to the national youth level and pro club programs," said Yang, a former Chinese national team forward, who became the first player from the country to compete and score in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt in 1998.

For years, the CSL has been criticized for its over-reliance on foreign strikers, with domestic players often overlooked and neglected. High-profile imports, brought in for staggering transfer fees, have long dominated the goal-scoring charts, leading to a perception that Chinese strikers lack the ability to compete at the top tier.

Wang's breakout season this year has shattered this narrative, as the left winger, who began junior training in 2013 at a primary school in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, has emerged as a sharp scorer over 13 league matches, rising to second on the league's list of top scorers.

His goals, mostly the result of his ability to dribble down the left flank, showcase a level of technical proficiency and scoring instinct that surpasses his rivals, and in many cases, his expensive foreign counterparts.

Yang, who coached Wang in the under-16 national youth team, attributed his student's improvement to the Zhejiang club's commitment to cultivating homegrown talent, which should be promoted and adopted across the country.

"Only after we have more players like Wang emerging strongly in the domestic league, can we start dreaming big on the international stage again," said Yang, who was a formidable member of China's 2002 World Cup roster.

Now into his third season with Zhejiang, Wang, who made his domestic league debut in 2023 at just 16, has drawn interest from Europe, according to his club head coach Raul Caneda Perez, a former analyst on Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola's coaching staff.

Still, it's too early for him to go ply his trade overseas, Caneda Perez reckoned.

"Without any exaggeration, he convinced me in his first training session under my watch that I had to give him a place in my starting lineup," the Spaniard recently told China Central Television.

"His talent at this tender age has had some clubs in Europe and the City Football Group interested, as far as I know.

"But, I think he should keep playing in the domestic league to perfect his craft and gain more experience before maturing enough to go overseas for a bigger challenge."