China keep flickering hopes alive
Hard- earned victory lifts team to second from bottom in group
A 1- 0 win over Uzbekistan sent Chinese soccer fans in wild jubilation on Thursday, as a late penalty from striker Gao Lin helped China earn another three points in their World Cup campaign.
The win in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei Province means China can keep their flickering World Cup hopes alive after nine rounds.
China now bounced to second from bottom in the six- team group with nine points, with a September 5 away game against Qatar, who were eliminated on Thursday in the group after losing 3- 1 to Syria.
A foul by Uzbekistan defender Anzur Ismailov, who plays in Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai, in the 82nd minute gave China the precious penalty chance.
Coach Marcello Lippi said he is happy for the win before reiterating that the team will never give up and will do their best until the last minute.
“I am happy about the victory today, but we still have a lot of work to do before we truly become a strong team,” the Italian said.
China still have a four- goal difference compared to Syria, who are now in the third place of the group, the final berth possible for a World Cup spot.
“When I arrived here, we had only one point, but after five matches, we have seen the team progress match by match,” the silver- haired man said.
Under the gaze of more than 50,000 fans at the Wuhan Sports Center stadium, China had mounted their attacking pressure on the visitors in the first half but did not score, which left Lippi making two substitutions at halftime.
“If nothing changed, the second half would remain the same as the first,” he said.
“I chose to bring on some physically stronger players to keep our side organized.”
He also singled out right back Deng Hanwen, a 22- year- old who plays for China’s second- tier league side Beijing Renhe, saying in the future he will let young players have more pitch time.
Scoring hero Gao even said that before Lippi’s coming to take the reins, plenty of Chinese players felt that the World Cup was not possible for China, but now “it is still possible to qualify, which is a big boost for us.”
For the Uzbeks, coach Samvel Babayan said they had done their best in the match.
“We did our best and fulfilled everything,” Babayan said at the post- match news conference.
“At the ending period we conceded a penalty, which we didn’t deserve, but that’s football: If you can’t score, you can’t win.”
He noted that his team’s failure of converting chances into goals is the main reason for the loss and said Lippi even told him China were “fortunate” to win the game after the final whistle.
China’s only previous appearance at the World Cup finals came when South Korea and Japan hosted the tournament 15 years ago, with Bora Milutinovic’s side losing all three of their group games against Costa Rica, Turkey and evetual winners Brazil.
Elsewhere on Thursday, South Korea were held to a frustrating scoreless draw by 10- man Iran at home, meaning they have to wait untill the away game to Uzbekistan to secure their 2018 World Cup qualification.