It can be done: China’s soccer fans finally had a reason to cheer again. In their fourth attempt at the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in North America, the team led by Croatian head coach Branko Ivankovic managed their first win. The final score was 2:1 (2:0) against Indonesia, giving the People’s Republic a minimal chance of still qualifying for the tournament in two years. The success prompted the 37,000 fans in Qingdao to stage a confetti parade immediately after the final whistle. Incidentally, the opening goal was scored by Behram Abduweli, a striker of Uighur descent. Upcoming opponents for the Chinese are Bahrain and the World Cup-experienced high-flyers Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia.