Bhutan's Jigme Tshering Dorji tries to defend against China's Sun Ke (L) during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying match at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu on June 16, 2015. (Photo : FIFA/AFP/Upasana Dahal)
China’s national soccer team beat Bhutan 6-0 at the Changlimithang stadium in Thimphu on Tuesday night, kicking off a flying start for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Zone qualifiers.
China is seeded into Group C, which includes Bhutan, Qatar, Hong Kong and Maldives.
Despite having a team consisting of amateur players, Bhutan fought hard and were in high spirits during the game. Its goalkeeper Hari Gurung denied many shots to keep the score at 0-0 near the end of the first half, the state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.
It was Yang Xu who finally scored during the injury time of the first half, followed by a hat trick later on. Substitute Yu Dabao also scored a brace.
In the second half, the Bhutanese team rallied to look for an equalizer, with Chencho Gyeltshen launching two threatening strikes, causing China's goalie Yan Junling to stretch twice.
However, the amateur Bhutanese players were eventually dominated by the professional Chinese strikers, causing China to score five goals in the second half.
Alain Perrin, head coach of the China team, said that their victory was due to more open spaces in the second half.
"We played the same game as it in the first half, but the second half was much easier for us, since Bhutanese left more open spaces for us to score," he said during the post -match press conference.
Yang said that the team found its pace after its first goal in the first half.
"The earlier we scored, the earlier we would have them collapsed. However, the opponents' struggle and their home advantage made our first goal later," he added.
On Thursday, Hong Kong won against Bhutan 7-0, while Qatar bested Maldives 1-0.
