Saudi Arabia moved up to second in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group following a 2-1 win over China on Tuesday.
Roberto Mancini had expressed concern before the match about the lack of game time in the Saudi Pro League for his home-grown players and those fears were realised on 14 minutes as Ali Lajami put through his own net to give China the lead in Dalian.
Their task was made even harder by the dismissal of midfielder Mohamed Kanno a few minutes later, but Hassan Kadish equalised with a header from a corner before half time and repeated the feat in the last minute of the 90 to spark wild celebrations from the visitors.
Victory gives the Green Falcons four points from their first two games of the third round of Asian qualifying, trailing Group C leaders Japan by two points.
Boos rang around the stadium at the final whistle with Croatian manager Branko Ivankovic the target of many fans' anger.
"There are three very strong teams in our group, Japan, Australia, and Saudi Arabia," said Ivankovic. "There are still eight games left. This game was a little better than the previous one. We still have hope in the upcoming matches."
China, who had registered just one shot in their 7-0 defeat to Japan last week, struggled to carve out chances despite their numerical advantage. They paid the price when the Saudis equalised through Kadish before half time.
As the rain poured down after the break, China began to exert pressure on a tiring Saudi defence. Wang Shangyuan thought he had put China back ahead after bundling the ball home from a corner, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside. At the other end, winger Salem Al Dawsari went through on goal but his shot cannoned off the crossbar.
Both sides went in search of a winner, but it was Kadish who popped up unmarked again from a corner to power a header past China's goalkeeper Wang Dalei.
China remain bottom of the six-team group after a second successive loss. Only the top two guaranteed a place at the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Chinese Football Association slapped lifetime bans on 43 people over alleged gambling and match-fixing, including former China internationals and South Korean player Son Jun-ho.
China's football governing body has itself been under scrutiny – about 10 high-ranking CFA officials have so far been brought down in corruption probes.
Up next for China is a trip to Australia on October 10 followed by a home match against Indonesia five days later while Saudi Arabia take on Japan in a top-of-the-table clash and Bahrain.
'Winning never gets old'
Son Heung-min said "winning never gets old" after South Korea got their troubled World Cup qualifying campaign up and running with a 3-1 away victory over Oman.
The captain scored late in the second half in Muscat to help give the Koreans their first win of the third Asian qualifying round, after starting with a disappointing home goalless draw with Palestine last week.
South Korea have endured a difficult week, with fans jeering new coach Hong Myung-bo before the Palestine stalemate and defender Kim Min-jae confronting supporters after the game.
Tottenham striker Son praised his teammates for sticking together, telling reporters: "Winning never gets old. And to keep winning, everyone has to sacrifice and work hard. And I think everyone did their part today, and that's why we were able to come away with such a good result."
South Korea opened the scoring when Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan pounced in the 10th minute, before Jung Seung-hyun's own goal pegged them back on the stroke of half time.
Son put South Korea back in front in the 82nd minute with a cracker before Joo Min-kyu added a third goal deep into injury time.
"We'll try to play the best match of our lives every time out," said Son. "Asian teams have made so much progress that as an Asian myself, it makes me proud. It was great to play such a high-quality match, and we'll have to work even harder."
South Korea's next game is on October 10 away to Jordan, who beat them in the Asian Cup semi-finals at the start of the year. The Koreans then face Iraq at home five days later.
The top two teams from each group are guaranteed a place at the 2026 World Cup, with the third and fourth-placed sides going into a further round of qualifying.
"We have eight matches to go and that means we have eight more opportunities to play our best," said Son. "If we can play with confidence like we did today, I believe we will be in good shape."
Palestine could not repeat their heroic performance in Seoul last week, losing 3-1 to Jordan in a match played in Kuala Lumpur because of the war in Gaza.
