China on track for Asian Cup

China came from behind to defeat Iraq 3-2 while Iran and the UAE also posted victories in Sunday’s friendly action.

China finetuned their preparation for the Asian Cup with their fourth in a row thanks to second-half goals from Zhao Peng and Li Xuepeng.

They have now lost just one of their last seven matches and will head into the 2011 Asian Cup with confidence after another impressive victory against the reigning Asian champions.

Hao Junmin had given China the lead after just four minutes before a strong Iraq rearguard produced a goal on the half-hour mark from Younis Mahmoud.

With scores level at half-time, Mahmoud struck again and Iraq looked set for their third win in succession.

But China fought back and Peng’s 68th minute spot-kick levelled proceedings before Xuepeng scored the winner eight minutes later.

In other matches, an injury time winner to Javad Nekounam gave Iran a 1-0 win over Angola in a match played behind closed doors, while Syria lost their third match in a row slumping to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the United Arab Emirates.

Two goals in the last 20 minutes saw Uzbekistan claim a 2-2 draw with Jordan in Dubai.

Amer Deeb’s 33rd minute goal was all that separated the two sides before Jasur Hasanov squared things up at 1-1 with 20 minutes remaining.

Odai Al Saifi looked to have scored the winner for Jordan after 75 minutes, but their celebrations were short-lived as Olim Navkarov struck just two minutes later to ensure both sides shared the spoils.