Chinese women thrash Tajikistan 16-0

SHANGHAI: Impassioned debate raged in China on Tuesday about the state of the men’s national football team after the Chinese women’s side thrashed sorry Tajikistan 16-0 at the Asian Games.

Forward Wang Shanshan plundered nine goals — a remarkable hat-trick of hat-tricks — as China ran riot on Monday in the Indonesian host city of Palembang.

China’s women, who consistently outshine their male counterparts on the international stage, have easily won two games out of two at the Games and face mighty North Korea on Wednesday to decide who takes top spot in the group.

China previously hammered Hong Kong 7-0 and the women’s latest goal fest sparked debate back home on social media.

China’s men’s team are something of a national embarrassment, qualifying for the World Cup only once, in 2002, when they failed to win a point or even score a goal.

“Are they playing volleyball? Can we spare half of the points for the men?” asked one person on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, after the women went to town on the hapless Tajiks.“Take the men’s salary and send it to the women’s team,” chipped in another.