BEIJING, July 11: China’s football authorities have taken full responsibility for the national team’s disappointing show at the World Cup, saying they would “not forgive” themselves for the failure, state press said Thursday.

The team’s debut at the World Cup Finals in June was “a breakthrough for Chinese football” in itself, said Yan Shiduo, vice director of the China Football Association (CFA), according to the Beijing Youth Daily.

However, in failing to even score a goal in three comprehensive first-round defeats, the team did not achieve any of the targets set before the tournament, he said.

“We shall not forgive ourselves. We did not meet the expectations of the Chinese people and the country,” told a football conference in Lanzhou, capital of the northeastern province of Gansu.

“I should be held responsible, the CFA should be responsible,” Yan said.

Amid wild public expectations ahead of China’s first-ever appearance at the tournament, after four decades of trying to qualify, team coach Bora Milutinovic tried to dampen down hopes.—AFP