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China reaches World Cup Finals after 44-year Odyssey
( 2001-10-07 22:36 ) (8 )

After a 44-year tumultuous Odyssey, China reached the World Cup finals for the first time on September 7 when they cleared the last obstacle with a 1-0 win over Oman in an Asian qualifier in Shenyang of Northeast China.

Playmaker Yu Genwei hit in the sole historic goal for China in the first half. With the win, China, who failed in all their past six attempts to qualify for the finals, built an unassailable lead with 16 points in Group B. Their closest opponents UAE or Uzbekistan can only get a maximum 13 points provided that they both win the remained matches.

The 27-year-old Yu, replacement of China's top scorer Qi Hong who was abscent through suspension, put the hosts 1-0 ahead in the 35th minute when he raced to a head cross by forward Hao Haidong and drove it past Oman's goalkeeper Sulaiman Mazroei.

With their first ever qualification only a draw away, China failed to launch fierce blitz in this game as they did in their recent two home games.

They were held at bay, finding it hard to penetrate Oman's dogged defence. They didn't get their first shot until the 29th minute when Yu Genwei saw his shot fly over the bar.

China got another scoring chance in the 53th minute when striker Yang Chen, who plays with Frankfurt of Germany, dribbled past charging Mazroei, only to see his first goal in the group matches was denied by the left post.

China waged their first assault on the World Cup finals in 1957, but succumbed to Indonesia. And from 1980 to 1997 they made five consecutive attempts, but all in vain, leaving Chinese fans in great agony.

Asian World Cup qualifiers are undergoing in two groups, the top finishers of each will qualify for the World Cup finals.

Following is a list of the 20 countries who have qualified for next year's World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea:

Holders: France

Co-hosts: Japan/South Korea

Europe: Poland, Sweden, Spain, Russia, England, Croatia, Portugal, Denmark, Italy

South America: Argentina

Africa: Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa

CONCACAF: Costa Rica

Asia: China