China's World Cup path gets tougher after losing to Uzbekistan

Players fights for the ball during their FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying match between China and Uzbekistan in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Oct 11, 2016. China lost the match 0-2. [Photo/Xinhua]

TASHKENT - China's hope to advance to 2018 FIFA World Cup finals dimmed as they lost 2-0 to Uzbekistan here on Tuesday night, collecting only one point from four matches played and standing last but one in the six-team Group B.

China coach Gao Hongbo, 50, announced his resignation at the post-match press conference.

Gao retook the rein of the Chinese national team in February 2016 and led the team to beat Qatar 2-0 at home on March 29 to clinch the last ticket to the Asian Zone qualifying tournament last round which comprises 12 teams.

China were drawn into Group B with South Korea, Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Syria. After the one-year-long round-robin home-and-away competitions, the top two finishers will advance to Russia directly and the third finisher will have playoff with its counterpart in Group A.

So far, China lost 3-2 to South Korea, 2-0 to Uzbeikistan on road, tied Iran 0-0 and lost 1-0 to Syria at home.

Having stunned by Syria on Oct. 6, China knew that the match against Uzbekistan became a do-or-die duel in a sense. But Chinese fans were disappointed again, not only at the result, but also at the poor performance of the whole team in the game.