BEIJING — China’s national team did not blaze through the group stage of the World Cup in France as much as stumble.

It scored a single goal in three matches. Its players appeared outmatched on the field and dogged by disputes off it. The team’s star player, Wang Shuang, who plays for Paris St.-Germain in the French professional league, was pointedly reproached by the coach and benched for significant chunks of the team’s first three matches.

The team did manage to advance to the knockout round of 16 nonetheless after a scoreless draw against Spain on Monday, but the greatest cause for celebration here in China was the fact that the team’s third-place finish in Group B meant it would not have to face the United States next.

No one is accusing the team, known as the Steel Roses, of overconfidence.

“In the last three games, we realized the gap between us and these strong teams,” the team’s coach, Jia Xiuquan, said Monday after tearing up at the end of the match against Spain.