Saudi Arabia's 10 men fight back to beat China in World Cup qualifying

By AFP September 10, 2024 | 06:56 am PT

China face a struggle to qualify for the 2026 World Cup as they followed their 7-0 drubbing in Japan last week with a 2-1 defeat against 10-man Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Members of China national football team are disappointed after losing FIFA World Cup Qualification Final Round match against Japan at Saitama Stadium in Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture on Sept. 5, 2024. Photo by Reuters

China went ahead in the 14th minutes in Dalian through an Ali Lajami own goal but failed to take advantage of Saudi midfielder Mohamed Kanno being red-carded a few minutes later.

Hassan Kadish equalized with a header from a corner before half-time and repeated the feat in the last minute of the 90 to spark wild celebrations from the visitors.

China fought hard against a side ranked almost 30 places above them in FIFA's world rankings and had a goal disallowed, but they remain rooted to the bottom of Group C.

After Lajami deflected a corner into his own net off his shoulder, the 29-year-old Kanno needlessly kicked out at China's Jiang Shenglong after the referee had blown for a foul.

Having initially missed the incident, VAR prompted the referee to take another look and the Saudi player was sent off.

China, who had registered just one shot in their match with Japan, struggled to carve out chances despite their numerical advantage.

They paid the price when the Saudis, managed by former Manchester City and Italy coach Roberto Mancini, equalized through Kadish.

As the rain poured down in the second half at the Suoyuwan Football Stadium, China began to exert pressure on a tiring Saudi defense.

Wang Shangyuan thought he had put China back ahead after bundling the ball home from a corner, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.

At the other end, winger Salem Al-Dawsari went through on goal but his shot cannoned off the crossbar.

Both sides went in search of a winner in the closing stages, but it was Kadish who popped up unmarked again from a corner to power a header past China's goalkeeper Wang Dalei.

China are bottom of the six-team Group C after two defeats, with only the top two guaranteed a place at the 2026 World Cup.