bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agencies

Gao Lin was the hero for China with a late penalty to seal a nervy 1-0 win over Uzbekistan to keep their faint World Cup hopes just about alive on Thursday night.
Hosts China needed to win the penultimate group-phase clash to stay in the hunt for a play-off spot for Russia 2018 and Gao stepped up with just six minutes left to grab victory.
Marcello Lippi’s men head to Qatar on Tuesday for their final must-win match and will hope other results go their way so they can grab an unlikely third-place play-off spot in group A.
It was a bitter, late blow for Uzbekistan, who are chasing their first World Cup appearance.
But they too are still in the reckoning as group A goes down to Tuesday’s final round of matches when they welcome South Korea to Tashkent.


Roared on by a capacity 55,000 home crowd desperate to see China stay in contention for just their second World Cup finals appearance, Lippi’s side dominated an uneventful first half.
The hosts should have gone ahead inside five minutes in Wuhan, but attacking midfielder Wu Lei – dubbed the “Chinese Maradona” – scuffed his close-range shot wide.
Shanghai SIPG star Wu was a constant threat, blazing off target and then just failing to latch onto a tantalising through ball.

The Uzbeks were a rare attacking force, but the few times they did get the ball into the home box it sparked panic in China’s shaky-looking defence.
The best chance of the first half came on 37 minutes and again it was the home side who wasted a golden opportunity when Zhang Xizhe skipped through the visitors’ defence.
But the Beijing Guoan midfielder fired too close to Ignatiy Nesterov and the Uzbek goalkeeper smothered the chance.
China back coach Marcello Lippi until 2019 Asian Cup regardless of World Cup qualifying fate
Zhang and Wu held their heads in their hands.
Knowing that the draw was similarly of little use to them in their bid to reach Russia, Uzbekistan emerged for the second half with more intent.
And they had their first real opportunity of game 10 minutes into the second period when veteran Server Djeparov shot wildly over from around the penalty spot.

Moments later they went close again when China’s goalkeeper Zeng Cheng made a meal of a corner.
China’s defence was creaking alarmingly and their minuscule hopes of World Cup qualification ebbing away.
Chinese Super League imports hurting national team’s World Cup chances, says boss Marcello Lippi
Nesterov was then busy twice denying the hosts in quick succession as the game finally sparked to life.
Time was running out on China, until Gao held his nerve from the spot to send the home crowd wild.
Qatar, who will host the 2022 World Cup finals, failed to qualify for 2018 edition of the tournament after a 3-1 loss to Syria in their penultimate Asian group A qualifier in Malaysia.
The Qataris, who have never played at a World Cup finals, needed to win both of their remaining qualifiers to have any chance of making it to Russia next year.

Meanwhile, the future looks bright for Japan’s national soccer team.
Two of the country’s youngest players scored on Thursday as Japan secured a sixth straight World Cup berth by beating Australia 2-0.
“We may be young, but it’s clear we need to step up now,” said Takuma Asano, who scored the first goal. “The coach has shown a lot of confidence in us and we need to live up to the expectations.”
Asano, a 22-year-old forward who plays for German club Stuttgart, has won the confidence of Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic with his sleek play and scored in the 41st minute.
Yusuke Ideguchi, who is only 21, added the second in the 83rd with his first goal for the national team.
Ideguchi, who beat several Australia defenders before sending a right-foot shot to the top corner, was Japan’s most impressive player.

“The coach decided to play me on this big stage and so I came into the match determined to deliver results and that led to the goal,” the Gamba Osaka midfielder said. “There is still a long way to go until next year’s World Cup so I want to continue to improve so that I keep getting picked.”
Halilhodzic hasn’t given up on his veteran players, but it’s clear he is moving in a new direction as Japan looks to improve on past World Cup performances.
Keisuke Honda remained on the bench for Thursday’s match while Leicester forward Shinji Okazaki came on late with the result secure. Before Thursday, Japan had never beaten Australia in World Cup qualifying, losing twice and drawing five times.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press


2009 East Asian Games football hero Chan Siu-ki hangs up his boots

Xi Jinping’s World Cup dream, tattoo bans and Carlos Tevez: Chinese football in the 2010s

No goals, no fans, no TV: Koreas draw 0-0 in blacked-out World Cup qualifier

Tiny Solomon Islands now ranked ahead of Hong Kong in latest Fifa men’s rankings

2018 Fifa World Cup Asian qualifying

Nerve-jangling late drama as controversial penalty decision keeps China in World Cup hunt

China’s Deng Hanwen stumbles to the ground as Uzbekistan’s Vitaliy Denisov chases the ball. Photo: Reuters

Football Soccer - China v Uzbekistan - World Cup 2018 Qualifiers - Wuhan Sports Center Stadium, Wuhan, Hubei province, China - August 31, 2017. Chinese fans cheer for their team. REUTERS/Stringer ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA.

epa06174134 Japan's defender Maya Yoshida (R) in action against Australia's forward Tomi Juric (L) during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying soccer match between Japan and Australia in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Japan, 31 August 2017. Japan won 2-0 and qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2018. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON

Football Soccer - China v Uzbekistan - World Cup 2018 Qualifiers - Wuhan Sports Center Stadium, Wuhan, Hubei province, China - August 31, 2017. Zhang Xizhe of China and Egor Krimets of Uzbekistan in action. REUTERS/Stringer ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT.

Football Soccer - China v Uzbekistan - World Cup 2018 Qualifiers - Wuhan Sports Center Stadium, Wuhan, Hubei province, China - August 31, 2017. Gao Lin of China and Anzur Ismailov of Uzbekistan in action. REUTERS/Stringer ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT.

Frustration for football fans as Cityline website crashes under demand for Hong Kong v China World Cup qualifying tickets

Hong Kong in action against China in Shenzhen in September. Photo: AP

Hong Kong fans cheer their team against China. Photo: SCMP

Fifa set to punish Hong Kong AGAIN after fans boo anthem ahead of China World Cup qualifier

A Hong Kong fan 'voices' his displeasure ahead of the Hong Kong-China World Cup qualifier last week. Photo: AFP

A Chinese fan waves the national flag during the match at Mong Kok Stadium. The game finished 0-0. Photo: AFP

China World Cup player Fan Zhiyi wants more Chinese to follow Zhang’s overseas adventure

Werder Bremen’s new signing Zhang Yuning smiles at a press conference. He has moved to Germany on loan from West Brom, who he signed for following two years playing ion Netherlands. Photo: AP

Soccer Football - Werder Bremen vs West Ham United - Betway Cup Second Leg - Lohne, Germany - July 29, 2017 Werder Bremen's Yuning Zhang in action against West Ham United's Moses Makasi (R) Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra

China World Cup bid only a matter of time, says country’s new man in football’s corridors of power

Fans hold a Chinese national flag at the China Cup mini-tournament in January this year. Photo: REUTERS

(L-R) FIFA Marketing Director Thierry Weil, FIFA Vice-President David Chung, the chairman of Dalian Wanda Group in China Wang Jianlin and the first vice president of the Football Association of the People's Republic of China Zhang Jian attend an event announcing strategic partnership between Wanda Group and FIFA in Beijing March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

(170508) -- MANAMA, May 8, 2017 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Jian (1st L) of China, Mariano Araneta (2nd L) of the Philippines, Chung Mong Gyu (1st R) of South Korea and Mahfuza Akhter (2nd R) of Bangladesh pose with Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), after being elected as the new FIFA Council members (term 2017-2019) during the 27th AFC Congress in Manama, Bahrain, May 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Bo)(dx)

Sport

Football

China’s faint hopes of qualifying for Russia alive as they score with a late penalty against Uzbekistan, as Japan seal their place with 2-0 win over Australia
