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A team across generations. Build your eleven, then explore the careers.
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A team across generations
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The 330 on the pitch
The duels
Pick the greater legend. Every vote moves the people's ranking of China.
VS
The 33 of China.
Editorial order, with a career scene and sources behind every name.
01
SJ
Sun Jihai 80 caps (China) · Dalian Shide, Manchester CityOn 26 October 2002 at Birmingham, Sun rose to head Manchester City in front after 24 minutes, the first goal an East Asian player had scored in the Premier League.
RB1996–2008
03
FZ
Fan Zhiyi 106 caps (China) · Shanghai Shenhua, Crystal PalaceShanghai Shenhua used their centre-back as a stand-in striker in 1995 and he ended the year as the Chinese league's top scorer on fifteen goals, and in 1998 he and Sun Jihai became the first Chinese footballers in England.
CB1992–2002
05
GG
Gu Guangming 7 caps (China) · Guangdong Hongyuan, TuS KoblenzThey called him the Weatherfish, for the way he wriggled out of corners where there was no room left, and in 1987 he carried that to Darmstadt 98 and 107 league games across five seasons in the 2. Bundesliga.
CAM1979–1985
06
Wu Lei Shanghai Port, RCD Espanyol de BarcelonaA substitute at Camp Nou on 4 January 2020, he equalised in the 88th minute for Espanyol and became the first Chinese player to score against Barcelona, in a 2-2 draw.
LM2010–
Wu Lei Shanghai Port, RCD Espanyol de BarcelonaA substitute at Camp Nou on 4 January 2020, he equalised in the 88th minute for Espanyol and became the first Chinese player to score against Barcelona, in a 2-2 draw.
LM2010–
07
LT
Li Tie 92 caps (China) · Liaoning, EvertonHe started all three group games at the 2002 World Cup, still China's only appearance at the tournament, and spent that same season at Everton, where David Moyes used him 29 times in the Premier League.
CDM1995–2007
08
RZ
Rong Zhixing In 1979 a journalist named Qiu Zhenqi gave Chinese football a phrase of its own, the Zhixing style, coined for a man who went a whole career without a yellow or red card and never argued a referee's decision.
CAM
Career sources
Identity and career · Wikidata Q9026962
10
LW
Li Weifeng 112 caps (China) · Shenzhen, Shanghai ShenhuaBetween 1998 and 2011 he answered China's call 112 times, more than anyone else in the country's history, and started at centre-back against Costa Rica and Turkey at the 2002 World Cup.
CB1998–2011
11
Shao Jiayi 40 caps (China) · 8 goals · Beijing Guoan, TSV 1860 MünchenTwo goals against Indonesia on 21 July 2004 and another past Iran in the semi-final carried him into the All-Star team of the Asian Cup China hosted and then lost in the Beijing final.
CM2000–2010
Shao Jiayi 40 caps (China) · 8 goals · Beijing Guoan, TSV 1860 MünchenTwo goals against Indonesia on 21 July 2004 and another past Iran in the semi-final carried him into the All-Star team of the Asian Cup China hosted and then lost in the Beijing final.
CM2000–2010
12
YC
Yang Chen China went through the 2002 World Cup without scoring, and the nearest they came was his volley smacking the post against Turkey in a 3-0 defeat.About the editorial selection
SS
13
Zhang Linpeng 48 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (China) · Shanghai East Asia, Guangzhou FCChinese fans called him Zhangmos for the resemblance to Sergio Ramos, and on 9 November 2013 he played the 1-1 second leg at Tianhe that carried Guangzhou Evergrande past FC Seoul on away goals.
RB2009–
Zhang Linpeng 48 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (China) · Shanghai East Asia, Guangzhou FCChinese fans called him Zhangmos for the resemblance to Sergio Ramos, and on 9 November 2013 he played the 1-1 second leg at Tianhe that carried Guangzhou Evergrande past FC Seoul on away goals.
RB2009–
14
FX
Feng Xiaoting Sichuan First City, Dalian ShideAt 17 he took the armband at Sichuan Guancheng, the youngest club captain professional Chinese football has had, and the same authority carried him through nine seasons of Guangzhou's title years.
CB2004–
15
GL
Gao Lin Shanghai Shenhua, GuangzhouNearly four years passed between his China debut in July 2005 and his first international goal, and when it finally came on 21 January 2009 he took three in one night against Vietnam.
LM2005–
16
JJ
Jiang Jin 51 caps (China) · Bayi Football Team, Tianjin Jinmen TigerAll three of China's World Cup matches in June 2002 were played in front of him, and he picked the ball out of his net nine times while the team ahead of him never scored.
GK1997–2002
18
LM
Li Ming Dalian went through the entire 1996 Jia-A season without losing a league match, and Li Ming was its first choice right midfielder, one club from 1989 to 2005.About the editorial selection
CAM
19
PW
Peng Weiguo 53 caps (China) · 11 goals · Guangzhou, Chongqing Liangjiang AthleticWhen Chinese football turned professional in 1994, he wore the captain's armband at Guangzhou Apollo and took them to second place in that first Jia-A season, six points behind Dalian Wanda.
CM1992–1997
20
WC
Wu Chengying 52 caps (China) · Shanghai Shenhua, Dalian ShideA loan to Dalian Wanda put him in the Asian Club Championship, where his goal against Pohang Steelers in February 1998 was voted the best in Asia that month.
LB1996–2002
21
FY
Fu Yubin 15 caps (China) · Liaoning FCChinese club football had no continental champion until 29 April 1990, when Liaoning drew 1-1 with Nissan Yokohama to seal a 3-2 aggregate win in the Asian Club Championship final.
GK1985–1992
22
ML
Ma Lin Liaoning's centre forward through the campaign that ended on 29 April 1990 with a 3-2 aggregate win over Nissan Yokohama, he made his club the first from China to be crowned champion of Asia.About the editorial selection
ST
23
QH
Qi Hong 39 caps (China) · Shanghai Shenhua, Guizhou RenheThree times in the autumn of 2001 his name went on the scoresheet in World Cup qualifying: inside twenty minutes against the UAE in Shenyang on 25 August, breaking the deadlock in Muscat six days later, then the only goal in Abu Dhabi on 27 September.
CDM1998–2003
25
SX
Sun Xiang 69 caps (China) · Shanghai Shenhua, FK Austria WienOn 20 February 2007 he played for PSV against Arsenal and became the first Chinese footballer to appear in the Champions League, three days after becoming the first to play in the Eredivisie.
LB2002–2013
26
WX
Wu Xi He had given Jiangsu 207 league matches by the night of 12 November 2020, when they beat Guangzhou Evergrande over two legs for the only championship the club would ever hold, and three months later Jiangsu no longer existed.About the editorial selection
CM
27
ZC
Zeng Cheng Wuhan Guanggu, Persebaya SurabayaOn 9 November 2013 he stood in the Guangzhou goal at Tianhe with 55,847 watching, and a 1-1 draw with FC Seoul was enough to take Evergrande through on away goals, the first Chinese club champions of Asia since Liaoning in 1990.
GK2009–2018
28
ZJ
Zhao Junzhe 71 caps (China) · LiaoningAgainst Brazil on 8 June 2002 his shot came back off the post, and that remains as close as China have come to scoring at a World Cup.
CDM1998–2008
29
LH
Liu Haiguang 58 caps (China) · 20 goals · Shanghai Shenhua, FK PartizanIn 1988 he and Jia Xiuquan left Shanghai for Partizan Belgrade, among the first Chinese footballers to play club football in Europe, and he left with three goals from six appearances.
ST1983–1990
30
XY
Xie Yuxin 120 caps (China) · 11 goals · Guangdong Hongyuan, Guangzhou MatsunichiAt eighteen he left for PEC Zwolle in 1987, among the first Chinese footballers to turn professional in Europe, and the following December he scored twice against Syria as China won 3-0 in Qatar.
RM1989–1996
31
XY
Xu Yunlong 72 caps (China) · Beijing GuoanSeventeen seasons in Beijing Guoan green produced 415 league appearances, and he was the centre back wearing the armband when the club finally won its first championship in 2009.
CB2000–2008
32
Zhang Yuning SBV Vitesse, Zhejiang ProfessionalOn 14 November 2024 he waited until the 91st minute in Bahrain, then scored the only goal of the night, eight years after marking his China debut against Trinidad and Tobago with two goals and an assist at 19.
SS2016–
Zhang Yuning SBV Vitesse, Zhejiang ProfessionalOn 14 November 2024 he waited until the 91st minute in Bahrain, then scored the only goal of the night, eight years after marking his China debut against Trinidad and Tobago with two goals and an assist at 19.
SS2016–
33
XG
Xu Genbao Bayi Football TeamOne training session in 2003 was enough: Xu watched Wu Lei, then eleven and turned away elsewhere for being too small, and took him into the Chongming academy he had founded two years earlier.
RM1966–1975
About this XI
The collection opens with Sun Jihai, Zheng Zhi and Fan Zhiyi. The 33 covers 3 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 14 midfielders and 6 forwards, with sourced senior international careers spanning the 1960s to the 2020s. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then explore the careers and settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.
Who is the greatest China footballer of all time?
The editorial collection starts with Sun Jihai. Its first five careers: Sun Jihai, Zheng Zhi, Fan Zhiyi, Hao Haidong, Gu Guangming. The people's ranking on this page moves with every duel vote and can disagree.
How were these 33 China players chosen?
The collection covers every position across China's football history. Honours, international records and career achievements inform the editorial order. Each entry opens a career note and its sources. Fan votes in the duels build a separate ranking.
Where can I read about the careers?
Open a player page from the collection to read the career scene, club record and recorded honours. The source links show where the available records come from.
Can I build and share my own China all-time XI?
Yes. Pick one of 8 formations, place any of the 33 players onto the pitch, and export your lineup as a PNG. There is no account and no sign-up.