FIFA Day: China Suffer Defeat Palestine 0-5

China's men's national football team suffered a chastening 0-5 defeat to Palestine on home soil, falling to their third opponent of the Chongqing International Football Invitational at Longxing Football Stadium, Chongqing.

The result capped a miserable week for Shao Jiayi's side in the tournament, following their earlier 0-3 defeat to World Cup-bound New Zealand on September 27, a result that had already raised concerns following an opening 3-0 win over Maldives.

China's troubles began early. In the 16th minute, defender Liu Yang attempted to clear the ball under pressure from an opposing forward but succeeded only in turning it into his own danger zone, presenting Assad Al Hamlawi with a clear sight of goal just outside the six-yard box. The Palestinian forward made no mistake, firing home to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.

Palestine doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute in controversial circumstances. Zaid Qunbar threaded a through ball into the path of Al Hamlawi, who found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and slotted into an empty net. The assistant referee initially raised his flag for offside, but a VAR review overturned the call and confirmed the goal, extending China's deficit to 0-2.

China briefly threatened a response in the 37th minute when Palestine failed to fully clear a corner, allowing the hosts to break forward. Tao Qianglong found himself through on goal but was denied by a smart save from the Palestinian goalkeeper, representing China's best opportunity of a difficult first half.

Any hope of regrouping before the break was extinguished deep into stoppage time. In the 45+5th minute, Mahajneh squared the ball across the box from the right flank, and Oday Dabbagh arrived at the edge of the area to drill a low finish into the net, sending Palestine into the interval with a commanding 3-0 lead.

The second half brought no respite for the home side. In the 54th minute, Dabbagh struck again, cutting inside from the right of the penalty area and curling a shot into the near corner that beat goalkeeper Yan Junling at his near post to make it 4-0.

China came desperately close to a further embarrassment two minutes later when a back-pass to Yan Junling was nearly intercepted by a Palestinian forward after the goalkeeper's clearance was charged down, the ball narrowly avoiding trickling into an empty net.

Despite the lopsided scoreline, China did create moments of genuine threat as the match wore on. In the 68th minute, Wang Shangyuan struck a direct free-kick from the left side of the box that cannoned off the right-hand post. Liu Yang came agonizingly close to making amends for his earlier error in the 79th minute, only for his own direct free-kick to strike the woodwork for a second time.

Palestine completed a dominant display in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time. Adam Kaied unleashed a long-range effort that Yan Junling managed to parry away, but the Chinese goalkeeper could do nothing about the rebound, with a Palestinian forward following up to convert from close range and complete a resounding 5-0 victory.

The heavy defeat compounds a difficult home tournament for China, who now face Turkmenistan on October 2 as their original fixture schedule continues, with the invitational serving as a key preparation window ahead of the team's continued build toward the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign. The result will raise fresh questions over the squad's defensive organization and composure under pressure, with set-piece vulnerability and individual errors proving costly against a Palestinian side that has continued to punch above its FIFA ranking in recent years.

Credit Photo : Palestine FA