Syria crushes China 3-1 in 2016 AFC U23 Championship. (Photo : Xinhua)
After dropping both of their opening games in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Syria managed to prevail in a virtually must-win game, crushing a 10-man China PR squad, 3-1, in Group A competitions on Jan. 15.
China midfielder Liao Lisheng, also currently playing for five-time Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande, again scored the opening goal at the 21st minute via a freekick to give Fu Bo's boys the early lead of the match.
However, the Red Eagles equalized the game two minutes before the halftime break with the first goal of striker Omar Khribin at the 43rd.
It was all Qasioun Eagles in the second half, though, as the young Syrian squad unleashed two more goals in the second half, at the 53rd and 83rd minutes with a penalty kick from Khribin, his second goal in the match, and one from midfielder Mahmoud Al Bahr.
Xinhuanet reported that the game was "almost a replica of the China-Qatar" opening game, where the Chinese squad dominated the first half only to succumb in the second.
A crucial error by Chinese defender Mi Haolun in the final moments of the first half led to goalie Du Jia fouling a Syrian opponent, resulting in a straight red card which put the China side a man down in the second half.
Lisheng, the most experienced player on the U-23 Chinese roster, said that his team simply lacks experience and that majority of his teammates "did not play enough high-level matches, and we paid back today".
Cri EnglishCri English said that with the defeat, the hopes of China's U-23 squad to join the 2016 Rio Olympics is now over.
