Fans defend coach after loss crushes finals dream

Soccer fans throughout the country unleashed a new wave of criticism of the national soccer team after China's dream of reaching the FIFA World Cup finals was crushed on Tuesday.

After China lost 0-2 to Uzbekistan in its fourth game of the final qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup, and coach Gao Hongbo announced his resignation at the post-match news conference, fans took to social media to defend him.

They urged the Chinese Football Association to take more responsibility for what they called poor youth development rather than replacing coaches one after another.