CHINA and Qatar played to a goalless draw in their World Cup qualifying match in Kunming, Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, last night.

    Sina.com said the Chinese players gave their best performance of the Asian World Cup qualifiers so far.

    It was China’s first match under World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi. Lippi last month took charge of China, which needed a lift after defeats to South Korea, Syria and Uzbekistan left the side at the bottom in Group A with one point from four games.

    Lippi said before the game that the Chinese players needed to shed their “underdog” mentality as they faced a tough first game — a World Cup qualifier against Qatar — which neither team could afford to lose. Lippi, who coached Italy to win the 2006 World Cup, admitted China would need a “miracle” to reach Russia 2018.(SD News)