CHINA claimed an easy win of 7-0 over Guam in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification game in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province, on Sunday night.

The seven goals came from Wu Lei (2), Jin Jingdao, Wu Xi, Ai Kesen and A Lan (2).

The win puts China, which is hoping to add to its single World Cup appearance in 2002, five points behind Group A leader Syria with three games remaining in the second round of qualification.

Wu Lei, who plays for Spanish club Espanyol, opened the scoring after 20 minutes from the penalty spot and Jin Jingdao added a second goal shortly before the break.

Goals from Wu Lei and Wu Xi increased the lead shortly after the interval and China ran riot late in the game with Ai Kesen, who signed for Guangzhou FC in 2013 and became a Chinese citizen in 2019, heading a fifth. A Lan, who joined Guangzhou from Red Bull Salzburg in 2015, added two more.

Only the eight group winners and the four best-placed runners-up progress to the third stage of qualification, due to start in September. That means China still has work to do against Maldives on Thursday and in subsequent matches against the Philippines and Syria on June 9 and 15, respectively.

All the remaining games will take place in Suzhou as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ruled that each group in the second round of qualification will be held in one centralized venue in order to reduce travel.

On Thursday, when a number of other teams resume their qualification campaigns for the first time since November 2019, Iran is also in need of a win.

Team Melli has appeared at the last two World Cups but coach Dragan Skokic admitted when naming his roster earlier this month that Iran has to win “pretty much all” of the four remaining games, starting against Hong Kong. Iran has six points in Group C, three behind Bahrain and five behind leader Iraq, though it has a game in hand.(SD-Xinhua)