Captain resigns and retires after ‘humiliating’ World Cup qualifier and tells wife ‘I really cannot accept it’
CHINA’S national team captain has retired from international duty after his country’s “humiliating” draw with Singapore.
Zhang Linpeng threw in the towel after China could only muster a 2-2 stalemate in yesterday’s World Cup qualifier.
The 34-year-old defender currently plays for Chinese Super League side Shanghai Port, having previously spent 11 years with rivals Guangzhou Evergrande.
Zhang had featured 105 times for China ever since his debut in 2009, with World Cup winner and ex-boss Marcelo Lippi previously labelling him the nation’s “best footballer.”
But his extraordinary international career is now at an end.
China were expected to easily triumph over Singapore on Thursday.
There are 70 places between the pair in Fifa’s world rankings, with China currently 88th.
And things appeared to be going smoothly for the world’s third-biggest country as they raced into a two-goal lead.
But Singapore pulled a goal back in the second half before levelling things in the 81st minute.
And during the post-match press conference, Zhang announced that not only was he stepping down as China’s captain due to the “humiliating” result, he was also retiring from international duty for good.
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He said: “I thought about it for a long while, I think it’s time to end my national team career.
“We could not even beat the Singapore team. I think it’s unacceptable and I find it humiliating.”
Meanwhile, Chinese state media reported that Zhang’s wife posted a message he sent her to social media.
It allegedly read: “I really feel like I cannot do any better than this anymore.
“Every day I am really putting in 100 per cent to 200 per cent effort, but this result, I really cannot accept it, so let’s just end it here.”
China will now look to avenge their draw when they play Singapore in Tianjin next week.
China national team results in 2024
The games that led to Zhang's shock retirement...
- China 1 Hong Kong 2
- China 0 Tajikistan 0
- Lebanon 0 China 0
- Qatar 1 China 0
- Singapore 2 China 2