China keeps World Cup dream alive

Victory over Syria buoys fans, but tougher tests await in final phase of Asian zone qualifying

Team China's surprising victory over Syria on Tuesday delivered another dose of feel-good factor for the fans. Booking a ticket to next year's World Cup finals, however, remains a mammoth task for Li Tie's men.

Spearheaded by star striker Wu Lei, a 3-1 triumph over Syria in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, secured Team China a spot in the final round of Asian zone qualifiers.

With the eight group winners and four best second-place finishers progressing, Syria had already sealed its spot before Tuesday's clash as Group A's top team. China finished three points back in second place thanks to an encouraging run of four straight victories since May 30.

"This was not an easy match. I'm very satisfied with the strong fighting spirit and persistence that our players showed on the pitch. We controlled most of the match and created many chances, although I'd be happier with a 2-0," head coach Li told the post-match media conference.

"We still don't have many opportunities to play more matches. I hope we can arrange more quality friendlies with stronger teams to prepare for the coming qualifiers. The team can only grow by participating in high-quality matches and playing against stronger rivals in the final round of the Asian qualifiers."

Kicking off in September, the final phase will feature 12 teams: Syria, Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, China, Oman, Iraq, Vietnam, and Lebanon. Group E winner Qatar was assured of its spot at the 2022 World Cup finals as host.

According to Xinhua, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will stage the draw for the final phase of qualification on July 1, with the 12 teams separated into six pots. While Japan and Iran are in the first pot as the top seeds, China joins the UAE in the fourth pot-illustrating the difficult task that awaits Li's men.

There's no doubt, though, that Team China's performances have improved under Li. The former China international and Everton midfielder took the reins in early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and disrupted his early plans for the job.

With the international schedule wiped out by the pandemic, Li was limited to training camps and friendlies against domestic club teams.

Last month's 7-0 victory over Guam in front of 30,000 spectators in Suzhou, Jiangsu province was his first official match in charge. Li had been looking forward to more matches with the home fans in attendance until COVID-19 cases in the Syria and Maldives squads saw the games moved to Sharjah.

However, China overcame the UAE's searing temperatures, as well as pandemic-related logistical issues, to win all three games in Sharjah, beating the Philippines 2-0 and the Maldives 5-0 before stunning Syria.

"I'm very touched and I think we should give our wholehearted support to Li Tie," said former Chinese international Fan Zhiyi in a recent online interview. "Li Tie took over the Chinese squad at a very difficult time. Even the most renowned international coaches could probably not have helped us. Chinese soccer's future should depend on our own efforts."

Li's predecessor was Italian World Cup winner Marcello Lippi, who resigned from his second spell at the helm following a 2-1 qualifying defeat to Syria in 2019.

Li had worked with Lippi as an assistant coach, and acknowledged the Italian's influence and input after Tuesday's triumph.

"I truly am very satisfied with my players' performance today, and now I want to show my respect to Marcello Lippi. I really want to thank him for his years of help to me and the squad," said Li.

"This trip to West Asia has been very tough for our staff. We never experienced anything (sudden relocation of matches) like this before. For the team, this was truly a huge test. But we all made it through."