Published : 07/10/2025

7 October, 2001, stands as a memorable day for Chinese football fans and professionals alike, as the Chinese men's national team finally achieved the historic milestone of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup finals.

That evening, both inside and outside the stadium erupted in celebration. The World Cup dream that the Chinese people had waited over 40 years finally came true.

On this day, Chinese fans, players, and football association officials could no longer contain their joy. Yan Shiduo (閻世鐸), then-Vice Chairman of the Chinese Football Association, declared with emotion: "Chinese football has entered a new era."

In 2000, the famous coach Bora Milutinović was formally appointed as the head coach of the Chinese national football team, and began to promote the concept of "enjoy football" in China; this once controversial coach proved his worth with results.

From 22 April to 27 May 2001, the AFC World Cup qualification group stage was in full swing; at that time, Milutinović led the Chinese team to win all six matches, advancing into the final round of the AFC qualification.

From 25 August to 7 October 2001, the final round of the AFC World Cup qualification kicked off; the unstoppable Chinese team again defeated strong opponents with an undefeated record, securing a ticket to the World Cup finals with two rounds to spare.

The 44-year journey of striving for the World Cup, and the collective efforts of several generations of footballers, finally ushered Chinese football into a new era.

On 4 June 2002, the Chinese men's national football team historically stood on the stage of the World Cup finals. At that time, the national team fought hard against Costa Rica in their first match but were defeated 0-2.

They were subsequently defeated by Brazil and Turkey, and were eliminated finishing 2nd from bottom in the group.

Although the Chinese men's national football team lost all three group stage matches in the World Cup, breaking into the World Cup finals, which is full of strong competitors, was no easy feat.

It already set the best record for the Chinese men's national football team in World Cup history, and brought honour to Chinese football.