BEIJING China on Tuesday bemoaned missing out on the World Cup finals in France and urged its National Soccer Association to learn a lesson from the its failure to qualify. The World Cup 98 is so splendid, so exciting and so far away from Chinese soccer fans, the official China Daily said in an editorial. Time differences mean fans here must stay up late at night or get up at dawn to watch matches but actually we do not mind this very much, the daily said.

What weighs heavily on our minds is our national team has not succeeded in making its presence in the World Cup finals yet. The editorial blasted Chinese Soccer Association officials who reacted to the country's failure to qualify this year by saying China was still a second-tier side in Asia. This view does not hold water, the China Daily said. The on-going World Cup is not only a battleground for the players, a festival for the fans, but also a very helpful lesson for our national team and the Soccer Association. If they do not learn from this experience, even if the next cup is to be hosted in our neighboring countries, the World Cup will remain as far away from us as it has always been, it said.

The 2002 World Cup is being co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. China's failure to qualify for this World Cup final after finishing third in their qualifying group behind Saudi Arabia and Iran provoked a nationwide outcry. Coach Qi Wusheng was sacked, and the team was forced to issue an open letter of apology to the nation. (AFP)