China's football captain quits after ‘humiliating' draw with Singapore in World Cup qualifier, tells wife he can't accept it

SINGAPORE --- Calling the result "unacceptable", China's captain Zhang Linpeng has decided to quit his international football career after his team's "humiliating" 2-2 draw with the Lions in a qualifier for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Zhang told reporters on Thursday (March 21) during a post-match interview that conceding a late draw against Singapore --- a side almost 70 places beneath China in the men's world rankings --- led to his decision to hang up his boots at the international stage.

"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," the 34-year-old said, as reported by Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post.

China's hopes of reaching the World Cup for only the second time are in the balance after the draw, AFP news agency reported.

China is ranked 88th in the world, while Singapore is 156th.

Xinhua News Agency, China's state-run media outfit, reported that Zhang's wife posted on social media an account of a text exchange they had after the game, where he sounded despondent.

In his message to his wife, Zhang said that he spoke to the team and told them he would take responsibility for the result.

He added: "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."

Dubbed "Zhang-mos" by his fans in reference to Spanish defender Sergio Ramos, Zhang plays as a right full back and as a central defender.

Thursday's match saw Singapore fighting back from being two goals down to secure a draw, in head coach Tsutomu Ogura's opening game since he took the reins in February.

China, too, had a new coach Branko Ivankovic, who took over from Aleksandar Jankovic after their Asian Cup first-round exit last month.

The first two goals in the latest match were scored by China's forward Wu Lei, which looked to have dashed any hopes of a positive result for Singapore, before substitute Faris Ramli scored after the restart and Jacob Mahler smashed home a goal to level in front of a 28,000-strong crowd at Singapore's National Stadium.

The two sides will meet again in the return leg at the Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium in China on March 26.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated Ogura and the team on Friday for their "fighting spirit and grit" against one of Asia's traditional football powerhouses.

Mr Lee wrote on Facebook: "Well done to the team and coach Tsutomu Ogura! Every effort counts, so keep working hard and continue flying the flag high. All the best for your upcoming match with China again in Tianjin on Tuesday."

China's coach Ivankovic said after the match: "I told my players at half-time that 2-0 is dangerous. Sadly, we did not do well in the second half.

"We should improve the efficiency to goal in the coming game and have a lot to correct. The team needs to make all efforts to win the next game."

Thursday's match was part of the 2026 Fifa World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia qualifier.

Singapore --- in Group C with China, South Korea and Thailand --- now sit at the bottom of the group with one point.

China are in third place with four points, Thailand in second with four points and South Korea top the group with seven points.

The top two of the group will advance to the 18-team third stage of the Asian qualifying tournament.

!football