China secured a dramatic 1-0 victory over Bahrain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, thanks to a late goal by Zhang Yuning that lifted the team to fourth place in Group C.
BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- China registered its second consecutive win in 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, edging Bahrain 1-0 away in a dramatic fashion on Thursday, while South Korea and Iran maintained their unbeaten records with additional wins.
Having suffered three consecutive defeats in the opening rounds, China earned its first victory in the fourth round by beating Indonesia 2-1, but still sat bottom in Group C before Thursday's fifth round fixture, while Bahrain managed one win, two draws and one defeat.
In the 11th minute, China's Zhang Yuning missed a scoring chance after a long ball put him through, but his shot was too central and lacked power to trouble goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfallah.
The home side had a penalty appeal in the 58th minute when Mohamed Marhoon went down in the box after a collision with Yang Zexiang, but the referee waved play on.
Bahrain thought it had scored the last-gasp winner in the 87th minute when Ali Haram chested it down to slot home, but it was ruled out due to offside after a long time VAR checking.
Dramatically, it was China that scored the late winner in the 91st minute, as the away side won back possession, before Wang Haijian assisted for unmarked Zhang to find the net.
Zhang picked up a knock minutes later and was stretchered off, before Bahrain's Waleed Al Hayam saw red for an awful tackle on Wang Ziming.
In another Group C fixture, Australia tied with Saudi Arabia 0-0 on home turf, the Aussie survived scare when Sultan Al Ghannam found the net deep into the stoppage time, but it was chalked off for his teammate's offside position in the build-up.
After the victory, China has climbed to the fourth place, leveling with Australia and Saudi Arabia on six points, while Japan still leads the group and sets to visit Indonesia on Friday.
Elsewhere in Group A, Iran's Mehdi Taremi tasted both euphoria and disillusionment as his hat-trick assists helped his side beat DPR Korea 3-2 away, but the Inter Milan striker also scored an own goal and missed a penalty.
Uzbekistan's Abbosbek Fayzullaev's double in a matter of five minutes had nullified Almoez Ali's first-half brace for Qatar, but the 2022 World Cup host still racked up three points thanks to a winner from Lucas Mendes.
Despite the setback, Uzbekistan still ranks second in the group on 10 points, three points behind Iran, while Qatar places fourth by managing two wins and one draw, leveling with the United Arab Emirates who dominated Kyrgyz Republic 3-0 on Thursday.
South Korea clinched its fourth consecutive win by sailing away with a 3-1 victory over Kuwait, marquee player Son Heung-min bagged his 50th international goal through a spot-kick.
The win, coupled with Iran and Jordan's goalless tie in a head-to-head for the second place, allowed South Korea to extend its advantage to five points, while Oman placed fourth after a 1-0 win over Palestine. ■