If World Cups were won by the team with the greatest enthusiasm, China would be among the favourites.
As it stands, results will always be what matter most and China still seem a long way off being a real force in world football.
A nation the size of China will never be struggling for players, but quality counts for everything at this level and that is what they are lacking at present.
A goal would have been a welcome sight for more than 40,000 Chinese fans who traveled to Korea, but the closest they came was when Yang Chen hit the post against Turkey.
Qu Bo and Hao Haidong also stood out, but I was disappointed not to see more of Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai.
It was the first time in five attempts that coach Bora Milutinovic hasn't taken his team into the second stage. Five different countries in five different tournaments - I wonder who we'll see the Serb in charge of in 2006?