World Cup 2022: China beats the Philippines in Asian qualifiers to edge closer to third round of qualifiers
- Goals from Wu Lei and Wu Xinghan put China within touching distance in runners-up table as coach Li Tie focuses on last two group games
- Filipino coach Palami on elbow incident: ‘China deserved the win but Tang should have been sent off’
China have kept their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying hopes alive after beating the Philippines 2-0 in an Asian zone group A match in the United Arab Emirates on Monday night.
La Liga forward Wu Lei scored a penalty before wingback Wu Xinghan doubled their tally in the second half. The win leaves coach Li Tie’s team in second place behind Syria but still in with a chance of reaching the third qualifying round as a runner-up team.
China lie just outside the best group runners-up threshold – they are currently sixth – thanks to group E leaders Qatar giving up their spot having qualified as hosts. The top five also qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
“We didn’t concede and I think this is more important than my personal performance. Winning the match under such difficult circumstances reflects not only the efforts of the players, but the hard work of all teammates and staff.”
After a tense first half that started with a red card debate and ended with naturalised striker Ai Kesen having a goal disallowed, China managed to break their opponents in the second half after Ai was brought down in another duel with Philippines goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann. The subsequent penalty was Wu’s third goal in two matches.