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China Upset Argentina in HK Junior Soccer Int'l
Former world junior champion Argentina was toppled by China 3-1 at the Hong Kong International Junior Soccer Tournament which opened in Hong Kong Friday.
Argentina, runners-up of South America Junior Cup days ago, opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when forward Mauro Cettoslammed home a teammate's delicate short pass.
China, who ranked third in the Asian championship last November in Iran, fought back in the second half with good teamwork and positive offense.
Defender Xu Liang fired a free kick just outside the box and the ball bounced from the Brazilian goalie and fell into the net, just eight minutes into the second half.
The equalizer made the Chinese more relaxed, who dominated the rest of the game.
Chinese defender Zhang Yaokun made his team lead 2-1 when he converted a penalty at the 72nd minute. His teammate and forward Qu Bo sealed their victory by adding another goal ten minutes later.
"I was astonished by the Chinese performance today, they arevery good," said Argentine head coach Jose Pekerman.
"It's just the result of our 50-day hard work, but we still have some problems," said Chinese head coach Shen Xiangfu.
In another match on Friday, Brazil, newly crowned in South American Junior Cup, led their Japanese counterparts 2-0 in the first half but the regular play ended 2-2.The Brazilians won the match 5-3 through penalties after the Brazilians scored three out of four attempts against just one by the Japanese.
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