Shenzhen: China produced a strong start to defeat Qatar 2-1 in their opening AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025 Group A match yesterday.
A dominant first half performance that saw China swarm Qatar paved the way for the victory as they went level on points with Australia, who beat Kyrgyz Republic 5-1 earlier in the day.
The host team's high intensity paid off in the 17th minute as Mao Weijie won the ball off Moath Ibrahim high up the pitch to set up Kuai Jiwen for a low shot into the bottom corner.
Qatar had little time to regroup before they went further behind four minutes later after Chen Zeshi’s through pass found Liu Chengyu, whose first touch took him past the onrushing Osman before rolling the ball into an unguarded goalmouth.
Qatar appeared for the second half with determination and were quicker to challenges, which led to them pulling a goal back in the 55th minute when Mohamed Hani Faragalla turned in Tahsin Jamshid’s cutback from the right.
A tired looking Qatar tried but could not find further breakthrough.China next face Kyrgyzstan on Saturday, while Qatar play Australia.
