China revive World Cup hopes
China breathed new life into their World Cup dream when they stunned Qatar 2-0 to move to the brink of the next round of qualifying on Tuesday.
Second-half goals from Huang Bowen and Wu Lei shocked Qatar, who had
won all seven of their previous Group C games, on a dramatic night in
Xi'an.
China's win, together with the Philippines' surprise 3-2 victory over
North Korea in Manila, put Team Dragon in the box seat to clinch a spot
in the third qualifying round and the 2019 Asian Cup.
China have only qualified for one World Cup, in 2002, but President
Xi Jinping is spearheading a drive to turn the giant Asian country into a
footballing power.
Their chances of reaching Russia 2018 took an upturn in the 57th
minute, when midfielder Huang buried a shot from outside the penalty box
into the corner after a goalmouth scramble.
This was followed by a close-range strike in the 88th minute by Wu, who had come close twice before.
Qatar, who will host the 2022 World Cup, were lacklustre and showed
little threat despite their perfect record in their other qualifying
games.
China brought greater organisation and energy, boosted by a raucous home crowd in the ancient capital of Xi'an.
"My luck was good, it was a team effort," Huang told state
broadcaster CCTV, before adding: "Chinese football is gradually
improving."
As the final games unfold, China need to finish among the four
best-performing second-placed teams in eight qualifying groups to reach
both the next stage and the 2019 Asian Cup.
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