China ended a run of three consecutive defeats with a 2-1 win over Indonesia in the World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.
First-half goals from Behram Abduweli and Zhang Yuning secured China’s first victory in the third round of the Asian Football Confederation qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The victory puts China level with Indonesia at three points after four matches in the six-team Group C, where Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain currently occupy the top four spots.
The win also energized the nearly 50,000-strong home crowd at Qingdao’s Youth Football Stadium on a chilly evening in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao.
China’s head coach Branko Ivankovic deployed a 4-4-2 formation with Behram and Zhang leading the attack. Wu Lei, the top scorer for both the national team and the Chinese Super League this season, remained on the bench after missing the previous match against Australia due to injury.
Right from the start, China followed Ivankovic’s instructions, playing with intensity and courage, winning key duels to maintain ball control.
Despite being the lowest-ranked team in the group, Indonesia, fielding nine naturalized players from the Netherlands, controlled more passes in their build-up play from the back to the front.
China’s main threat came from long passes and set pieces. Behram opened the scoring with a right-footed shot from the center of the box in the 21st minute, assisted by Jiang Shenglong following a set piece.
Zhang doubled the lead just before halftime, finishing a counterattack with a composed strike following a through ball from Gao Zhunyi, beating Indonesian goalkeeper Maarten Paes.
Zhang, who was brought by his father to watch China’s sole World Cup appearance in 2002 when he was just five years old, was visibly emotional after his goal, tearing up on the field.
Indonesia narrowed the gap in the 86th minute when Thom Haye’s right-footed shot from the center of the box slipped past China goalkeeper Wang Dalei.
Eighteen teams are divided into three groups in the third round of AFC qualifiers. The top two teams from each group will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed teams will advance to an additional round of qualifying.