Liu Ji of China (right) and Bangladesh's Maksudur Rahman battle for the ball possession during their match on Friday. Photo by: AFC/Stanley Chou

By Tan Boon Piaw and Shahin Rahmani

SINGAPORE: Reigning champions China, as expected, hammered Bangladesh 5-0 to reserve their spot in the quarterfinals of the AFC U-17 Championship here in Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday. Three goals in the first half completed the mission for China, who were under tremendous pressure to deliver after a lacklustre 3-3 draw with Vietnam in the last game. Syria, who beat ASEAN dark horse Vietnam 2-0 in another group game at the nearby Bishan Stadium, finished second in the group with six points and will meet Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals at the same venue on September 11.

China, after collecting seven points from three matches to top the group, were rewarded with a place in the last eight next Monday against the team they beat 1-0 two years back in the Final, DPR Korea.

South Asian minnows Bangladesh, on the other hand, lost all three games in the group, with no goal scored and conceded an amazing 14 goals to finish with the wooden spoon.

China easily tore apart the Bangladeshi defence and stormed to a sound three-goal lead in the first half, cementing their position in the last eight. By far the better side technically and tactically, the Chinese left the poor Bangladeshis chasing shadows throughout the match. China’s physical superiority proved to be the difference between the two sides.

All three of China’s goals in the first half came from headers. The prolific Ma Long, who was inspirational for China in the first two games, opened the floodgates in the 27th minute off a header from a beautiful executed right wing free kick by Jiang Wenjun. Two quickfire goals by Shandong Luneng hotshot Gao Di minutes before half time killed off any chance of a Bangladesh fight-back. Gao capitalised on Bangladesh’s defensive lapses in the 42nd minute, and scored with a somehow awkward downward header. Two minutes later, Wu Hongyang turned provider with his left wing cross, converted superbly by the alert Gao. Mahbub Hussein Roksy’s Bangladesh packed their defence from the beginning with hardworking skipper Tawhidul Sabuz Alam leadng from the front but they simply couldn’t match their formidable counterparts, who were a head taller. The second half was the same story with China dominating play and scoring two more goals.

Li Haifang’s powerful long range shot off a short pass by Tang Jiashu in the 77th minute left Bangladeshi custodian Mohammad Maksudur Rahman, who was arguably the busiest man on the pitch, helpless. Ma Long’s second goal of the game, in the 82nd minute, completed the rout and added to the Bangladeshis’ woes.

China coach Zheng Xiong said his team picked itself up after the previous draw against Vietnam admirably. “The players’ confidence was affected by the last game against Vietnam, and we needed to pick ourselves up for the next game. Although we scored a big win today, the team’s performance still left a lot to be desired.” “After three games in the group stage, I assume my players are ready for the real test, starting with the next game against DPR Korea.”

Syria left it very late against Vietnam with substitute midfielder Mohamed Midou breaking the goalless deadlock only in the 80th minute. Striker Ziad Ajouz then fired another goal three minutes later to deliver the killer punch which floored their unpredictable ASEAN rivals. Midou came in for Mohamed Zayton immediately after the break and provided the breakthrough from the edge of the box after turning his marker and unleashing a fierce shot into the far corner. The second goal was a beauty with Ajouz dribbling past two Vietnamese players and finishing from a tight angle. Vietnam could have reduced the arrears, if anything, in the 90th minute but Danh Ngoc Hoang blazed over. Syria coach Mohamed Al Joma said he was forced to send Midou in after sensing that the match was not going according to expectations. “I had kept Midou on the bench because of an injury and had planned to send him only into the next match. But I was forced to field him as we badly needed a creative player upfront.” “Vietnam has three key players and I had them marked closely. I think the Vietnamese didn’t have enough stamina for this game as they were tired.”