Team China starts World Cup qualifiers with victory over Thailand

It was not easy in the pouring rain, but China's men's soccer team earned three crucial points after winning its first Asian qualifier for the 2026 World Cup, beating Thailand 2-1 on Thursday at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.

Thailand got the lead after Sarach Yooyen scored in the 23rd minute, but Team China captain Wu Lei equaled six minutes later. Wang Shangyuan completed the turnaround for China in the second half by scoring in 74th minute.

"We have made comprehensive preparations, and our only goal here is to win. We have a strong mentality and we believe we can win it back, even if our rival has the lead first," said Wu, a former La Liga player who now plays for the Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port.

"After they had the lead, we were not influenced by that. And in terms of the next match, South Korea is a strong team in Asia. We need to have the underdog mentality, and we need to fight against them as hard as possible.

"It will be a home game, and we need to try our best to give a satisfying result to all our fans."

South Korea beat Singapore 5-0 on Thursday and will play China on Nov 21 in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The Chinese squad will then continue its campaign against Singapore in March.

The top two finishers in each group will advance to the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and book their places at the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027.

Of the 48 berths on offer at the 23rd FIFA World Cup, to be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, eight and a half have been allocated for the Asian zone.

"Before the start of the match, everyone knew the importance of the opening qualifier, and we have had a long time of preparation. It's great that we can have the three points, but it's still a long and tough journey ahead," said Wang after the victory.

"Our goal remains the same, which is to make it into the Word Cup finals. We need to move forward step by step. We will only celebrate the victory tonight. And the next morning, we will start our preparation for the next match against South Korea."