China advanced to the final Asian qualifying round for the World Cup for the first time since 2002 after a 2-0 victory over Qatar on Tuesday.
Second-half goals in Xian from Huang Bowen and Wu Lei were enough to defeat the group leaders and send China through to the last 12 as one of the four best runners-up from the eight groups, as the second round of Asian qualification ended.
China joined group winners Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Qatar and the other three best second-placed teams — United Arab Emirates, Syria and Iraq — in the final stage for the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Photo: Reuters
Backed by almost 50,000 fans, China knew that nothing less than a win would keep their hopes alive.
A low shot from Huang on the edge of the area after 57 minutes broke the deadlock against Group E winners Qatar.
With two minutes remaining, Wu Lei scored to seal the win.
“It was a tough game, but the players did what they had to do,” China coach Gao Hongbo said.
“We will enjoy this result for a little while before thinking about what comes next,” he said.
Elsewhere, a last-minute goal by Iain Ramsay saw hosts the Philippines beat North Korea 3-2 in Group H.
Iran sealed first place in Group D with a 2-0 win over Oman, Iraq made it through to the next stage with a 1-0 win over Vietnam as did both United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia after their 1-1 draw in Abu Dhabi. Lebanon and Myanmar had a 1-1 draw, Turkmenistan defeated India 2-1, Tajikistan beat Kyrgyzstan 1-0, Uzbekistan beat Bahrain 1-0, Palestine thrashed East Timor 7-0, Iraq beat Vietnam 1-0 and the Maldives defeated Bhutan 4-2.
The game between South Korea and Kuwait was postponed.
Two groups of six teams are to contest the final round of qualifiers beginning in September, with the top two from each group automatically qualifying for Russia.
The draw is scheduled to take place on April 12.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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