Lower-ranked China give World Cup-bound Curacao wake-up call in Fifa Series match
The smallest nation to ever qualify for the finals were playing first match under a new head coach, while fellow debutants Cabo Verde also lose
A physical China beat World Cup-bound Curacao 2-0 on Friday in the Caribbean island nation’s first match under new Dutch coach Fred Rutten after the abrupt departure of veteran Dick Advocaat.
Wei Shihao and Zhang Yuning scored either side of the break at Sydney’s Stadium Australia in a wake-up call for the tiny country ahead of their debut appearance at the global showpiece in North America in June-July.
Curacao, with a population of just 156,000, are the smallest nation ever to make a World Cup.
Despite this, they came through Concacaf qualifying unbeaten under Dutchman Advocaat with three wins and three draws and the experienced 78-year-old was expected to be at the helm when they create football history.
But he unexpectedly left last month to care for his ill daughter and was replaced by Rutten.
It proved to be a losing start for the former FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord and Schalke coach, whose side are in a challenging Group E at the World Cup alongside Germany, Ivory Coast and Ecuador.