China out of World Cup despite victory
DOHA: China’s faint hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup finals in Russia finally ended on Tuesday, despite securing the victory they needed in Qatar with just 10 men.
Syria’s draw in I ran and Uzbekistan’s goalless stalemate with South Korea meant that two late goals to secure a 2-1 win in Doha were ultimately futile in China’s desperate bid to snatch a play- off place for next year’s tournament. As well as coming from behind, China also took the lead after their captain Zheng Zhi had been sent off.
But despite being knocked out, China’s coach Marcello Lippi said his team had made real progress for the future after taking 11 points from their last six games.
“When I was first appointed nobody told me to get to the World Cup,” said the Italian at a press conference afterwards.
“They asked me to build up a very strong team.
“We were unlucky, we didn’t get the results we deserved,” added Lippi, who received applause from Chinese journalists as he left the press room.
Results elsewhere though meant that China had failed to qualify for Russia, and they finished fifth, one point off of the play- off position, secured by Syria on a night of high- drama in AFC Group A.
While Lippi remained confident about China’s future, it was another sobering night for their ambitious rivals, Qatar.
Defeat meant they finished bottom of the group, a desperate end for a country anxious to qualify for its first World Cup finals before they host in 2022.
The match was also played in a near- empty Khalifa stadium, the first international to be played in one of the revamped venues that will be used during the 2022 tournament.
Despite the sad end to the tournament, coach Felix Sanchez said there were enough young players coming through to give Qatar hope.
“We have a lot of very young players, we will keep working with them,” he said. — AFP