Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Vientiane: Substitute Chen Hao scored a double as China defeated Mongolia 5-0 in their AFC U-23 Championship 2016 qualifying campaign opener at the National Sports Complex Stadium in Laos on Friday.
The Chinese were ahead 3-0 at the break before Chen scored both his goals after the interval to comfortably win the Group J opening game.
Wu Xinghan, who scored a whopping four goals in China’s 11-0 thrashing of Singapore during qualifying for the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship, opened China’s account just three minutes into the game.
Xie Pengfei then registered his first international goal as he doubled China’s lead on 24 minutes before Xu Xin scored their third goal as the game went into the half time break.
Chen, who came on the field to replace Wang Rui on 60 minutes, immediately made an impact as he scored a minute later before completing his double on 78 minutes.
China will take on Singapore in their second match while Mongolia face hosts Laos on Sunday.
Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship 2016, with January’s 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio.