China secured their second win in Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qualifying Tournament by defeating Bahrain 1-0 in Manama on Thursday.
The match marked the eighth encounter between China and Bahrain, with China holding three wins and four draws from their previous meetings.
Zhang Yuning had an early opportunity to put China ahead in the 11th minute, bursting into the area, but his close-range shot was denied by Bahrain goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla. Eight minutes later, China faced a setback as Li Lei left the pitch due to injury, with Hu Hetao coming on as his replacement.
In the second half, China intensified their efforts to break the deadlock, creating multiple scoring chances. However, Lutfalla continued to thwart their attempts, including a header from Zhang in the 54th minute.
Bahrain thought they had taken the lead in the 87th minute when Ali Haram found the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
In stoppage time, Zhang Yuning finally broke through. Wang Haijian delivered a precise cross from the left, and Zhang capitalized on the opportunity, heading the ball past Lutfalla to give China a 1-0 lead. China held onto this advantage until the final whistle.
The victory adds three crucial points for China, elevating them to fourth place in Group C, level on six points with both Australia and Saudi Arabia. Earlier, Australia and Saudi Arabia played to a 0-0 draw in Melbourne. China is set to host group leaders Japan on November 19.
The top two teams from the group will secure automatic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Teams finishing third and fourth will continue their quest for qualification in the subsequent stage.
Reference(s):
China get past Bahrain 1-0 in World Cup AFC qualifier for second win
cgtn.com
