Lippi’s China dealt blow with Qatar draw

KUNMING, China: Marcello Lippi’s hopes of leading China to the next World Cup received a serious blow when they were held 0-0 by Qatar in Kunming on Tuesday.

Lippi is tasked with setting China on the road to football greatness but there was no dream start for the Italian in his first game in charge.

Instead China remain rooted to the foot of Group A with two points from five games and scant hopes of reaching Russia 2018 even with Lippi, who coached Italy to the 2006 World Cup title.

A packed Kunming crowd came with high expectations but Qatar’s Andres Quintana caused early panic before his attempt from a corner went wide.

Jiang Zhipeng’s long-range free kick nearly caught Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb napping before Wu Lei also drove a fierce shot narrowly off-target.

China continued to carve out chances after the break and Qatar had Al Sheeb’s instinctive save to thank when he tipped Wu Xi’s diving header over the bar.

Subsitute Cao Yunding hit the side netting but China were unable to craft the breakthrough against 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, who stay second from bottom on five points.

Meanwhile, Japan beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in a foul-tempered qualifier as a debatable Hiroshi Kiyotake penalty boosted their hopes of qualifying for a sixth successive World Cup.

The Blue Samurai drew level with the Group B leaders on 10 points after a tempestuous clash in Saitama, where Kiyotake’s spot kick and a Genki Haraguchi effort eased the pressure on under-fire coach Vahid Halilhodzic.

Saudi Arabia pulled a late goal back through Omar Othman but it was not enough for the visitors to rescue a draw.

“Credit to the players for beating a good Saudi team,” said Halilhodzic, whose future has been plunged into doubt after a poor run of form during the Asian qualifying campaign.

“This is a big victory for us but it was a deserved one,” added the Franco-Bosnian after his side improved to 10 points from five games, with five remaining.

“We have had to stay strong to come back from some difficult situations and no doubt there will be more to overcome before we get to Russia.”

Kiyotake converted on the stroke of half-time after Saudi defender Abdulmalek Al Khaibri was adjudged to have handled, despite replays showing Kiyotake’s initial shot had struck him in the chest.

The Saudis protested furiously to referee Muhammad bin Jahari of Singapore and scuffles broke out between the players, which continued as they disappeared down the tunnel at the interval.

Haraguchi effectively killed off Saudi’s hopes of pinching a point with a sharp finish after 80 minutes following a deft flick from substitute Shinji Kagawa.

Othman’s 90th-minute strike crept across the line in a moment of cruel irony for Japan, who had a similar effort disallowed in their 2-1 defeat to UAE.

Saudi’s chances of pulling off an improbable escape evaporated when captain Osama Hawsawi saw red for a clumsy challenge in injury time.