If the ranking doesn't explain the problem, then look at the preliminaries. China 12 reached the top in the last preliminaries, and finally ranked 10.
If you don't count the preliminaries, the national football teams in the last two Asian Cups have all reached the quarter-finals.
Therefore, no matter how you look at it, the national football team is not third-rate. If you play well, you will be first-rate; if you play normally, you will be second-rate; if you play poorly, you will be second-rate. Don't belittle the national football team too much.
If what I said doesn't count, please look at the score given to us by the AFC. Every Asian Cup and World Cup preliminaries, China's classification is basically Grade I or Grade II, which is officially recognized by the AFC.
PS: Don't use friendly matches as leverage. Friendly matches have no reference value at all.
I advise those who distribute files to Asia without authorization not to make a fool of themselves. Do you think you know more about Asian football or AFC knows more about Asian football?
Please see the score of 20 19 Asian Cup.
The first gear is the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar, Thailand.
The third gear is Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, India and Vietnam.
The fourth gear is North Korea, Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen and Turkmenistan.
Third-rate Syria, which you regard as evidence of criticism, is the second in the official classification of AFC. Your so-called third-rate Thailand is also a second-rate team.
20 18 world cup preliminaries ranked in the top 40.
The first file: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, China, Iraq.
The second batch: Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Syria and Kuwait.
Third tranche: Afghanistan, Philippines, Palestine, Maldives, Thailand, Tajikistan, Lebanon, India.
The final 12 tournament is basically the same as this division. No, the only destroyer is Thailand.
2022 World Cup preliminaries in Asia.
The first file: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China.
The second file: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam and Jordan.
The third file: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, China, Taipei and the Philippines.
China at the end of the first file lost to the Syrian team at the beginning of the second file, which is not shameful. After all, the strength is close.