CHINA KEEPS HOPES ALIVE
Coach Li Tie eyes high- level friendlies before World Cup qualifying final round
China secured a spot in the final round of the FIFA World Cup Asian zone qualifiers after beating Syria 3- 1 on Tuesday.
Syria had qualified as Group A leader before the game, and China was given a favorable position to progress as its major competitor Jordan lost to Australia 1- 0 before the kickoff whistle. The Chinese players showed good form under this situation and Espanyol striker Wu Lei proved to be the key man.
Wu set up for midfielder Zhang Xizhe to open the scoring with a diagonal shot in the 42nd minute. Syria leveled five minutes into the second half from a mistake by their rivals’ defense when midfielder
Aias Aosman netted home Alaa Al Dali’s back pass inside the box.
Wu earned a crucial penalty with his speed on 67 minutes, and converted without problem to help China regain the lead. The in- form hitman had a one- on- one golden chance in the 80th minute, but his low drive facing an advancing keeper went wide of the near post.
Substitute striker Zhang Yuning made it 3- 1 in the third minute of the injury time to seal victory and move China onto 19 points from eight games.
China’s head coach Li Tie brought on the same 4- 4- 2 starting 11 as the game against the Philippines, and China had the upper hand throughout the match. Zhang Xizhe and Ai Kesen had three other good chances in the first half, including a small angle drive from Ai kesen that hit the crossbar.
After beating Syria 3- 1 on Tuesday to reach the final round of 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian zone qualifiers, China expects to play some high- level friendlies before September.
“Only by playing against strong teams can we really improve ourselves,” China coach Li told a postmatch press conference.
“It was not an easy game. I was pleased with all the players for their spirit and tenacity. They controlled the game most of the time and created many chances. I would have been happier if it had been 2- 0,” Li said, adding that the win was a gift to the players injured in previous matches and to all the fans.
Talking about China’s defensive mistake in the second half which resulted in conceding a goal, Li said, “Syria is a strong team and we didn’t play at such a high level for quite a long time.”
“We must play more high- quality matches,” he noted.
Midfielder Zhang Xizhe, who opened the scoring with a diagonal shot in the 42nd minute, was named the player of the match.
“We played a very good game,” said Zhang.
The final round of the Asian qualifying tournament will start in September with 12 teams: Syria, Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, China, Oman, Iraq, Vietnam and Lebanon.