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China Thrash Qatar in "War of Vengeance"
China went on with their unbeaten streak in their World Cup qualifying campaign in Shenyang on October 13 when they thrashed Qatar 3-0 in a "war of vengeance".
China, who have already secured their first ever berth for the World Cup finals in their last game with a 1-0 win over Oman, were always jinxed when playing against Qatar in World Cup qualifiers. They never beat this Western Asian team in all their past six attempts to qualify for the finals. And in 1997, Qatar dashed all China's hope with a 3-2 away win, leaving a painful memory in Chinese fans.
But this time, China kicked the jinx away and avenged themselves on Qatar. China led by 2-0 in the first half thanks to goals from striker Su Maozhen and midfielder Qu Bo. In the second half, forward Hao Haidong sealed their victory with the third goal.
Bora Milutinovic, China's head coach said he was very happy with his players' performance. "I am satisfied with their amazing show. I am very pleased that we keep a perfect record on our home turf where we scored nine goals and conceded none," he said.
The 57-year-old Serb indicated that China is the best team in group B, which includes China, Oman, Qatar, UAE and Uzbekistan. " How to evaluate a team. I think the first thing we should do is to examine their achievements. And in our group, my team get the most points, scored the most goals and conceded the least."
China, who were unbeaten so far in group B, showed every determination to win the match, put on a fluid display. Their striking partner of Su Maozhen and Hao Haidong, with the assists of left defender Wu Chengying, threatened constantly, running Qatar's defence at six and seven.
With 12 minutes into play, Su Maozhen put China 1-0 ahead with a charging header on a corner kick.
At the 29th minute, midfielder Qu Bo made it 2-0 when he met a pass from skipper Ma Mingyu and knocked it past Qatari goalkeeper Hussain Alromaihi.
In the 57th minute, Hao, who time and again beat Qatari defence with his speed, hit in China's third goal on a solo run.
The despondent Qatari players managed only one shot on target throughout the whole game, and China's goalkeeper An Qi got almost jobless.
Qatar's coach Paulo Campos said this was the best match he saw in group B and China fully deserved the win. "Obviously they are the better side, their performance justifies their qualification for the World Cup finals." the Brazilian said.
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