China loses to Qatar in AFC Asian Cup

DOHA -- Hasan Al Haydos came off the bench to score a thunderous volley as Qatar beat China 1-0 in the final round of Group A at the AFC Asian Cup here on Monday.

China, who failed to score in all three matches and finished third in the group, now only has theoretical outside possibility of qualifying for the knockout stage.

Before Monday's match, China, with two points, needed to win its group finale to guarantee a place in the last 16, while Qatar had already won the group with two wins from two games.

China's head coach Aleksandar Jankovic made a bold change to his starting lineup, replacing star forward Wu Lei with Wei Shihao, who just recovered from an injury and missed the first two matches. Having already qualified, Qatar rotated nine of their eleven starters.

Desperate for a win, China created more scoring opportunities in the first half with a total of eight shots, four more than Qatar.

Wei was close to opening the scoring in the 36th minute, but his close-range shot was denied by Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb, before Wu Xi's right-footed shot cruised past the goal area.

In injury time of the first half, Lin Liangming and Wei unleashed two consecutive strikes, both of which went slightly off target.

Qatar brought on star forward Akram Afif and Haydos in the 64th minute, which immediately changed the momentum of the match. Just two minutes later, Haydos volleyed home from distance, thanks to a precise corner cross delivered by Afif.

China's substitute Jiang Shenglong sent the ball into the back of the net in the 87th minute, but the goal was disallowed as the ball had been out of bounds in the buildup.

Six group winners and runners-up will advance to the knockout stage, along with the four best third-placed teams.