China wont go to the 2010WC

The Chinese soccer team wont make it to South Africa in 2010. That is not a good publicity for their bid for the 2018 or 2022 WC.

Team China were hoping for a second chance to squeeze into the final of the 2010 World cup. But this time around, they failed to even make it into the final rounds of Asian zone qualifiers after losing to Iraq 2-1 at home Saturday night. 33 minutes into the match, an error by Iraqi goalkeeper Hasan Noor awarded China a free kick inside the area. Zhou Haibin didn’t waste the chance, and gave the hosts a 1-0 lead.

But the favorable situation only lasted for eight minutes as forward Ridha Emad leveled the score with a header. Going into the second half, China opted for more offence. But the empty defensive zone let them fall behind by one goal in the 65th minute. The match ended 2-1. With the victory, Iraq top the group with Australia and Kuwait, while China’s World Cup dreams are over.