KUALA LUMPUR: China were unstoppable as they thrashed the Philippines 8-0 in Sunday’s Group J match of the AFC Under-23 qualifiers in Shah Alam Stadium.
China started in fine fashion and were 4-0 up after 30 minutes.
They netted through Shan Huanhuan (10th and 77th minutes), Hu Jinghang (14th and 42nd), Huang Cong (19th) and Lin Liangming (29th) and substitute Zhang Yuning (49th and 90th).
In another match, Malaysia struggled in the 1-0 win over V. Sundramoorthy’s Laos side courtesy of Safawi Rasid’s goal in the 82nd minute.
The result against Laos was expected as Sundramoorthy favours defensive formations and it made it very difficult for Malaysia to score goals.
Guus Hiddink’s China will play Malaysia to decide the group champions on Tuesday.
A draw will not be enough for Malaysia as China have scored 13 compared to Malaysia’s four.
Ong Kim Swee’s boys need to beat China to qualify for next year’s tournament proper.
“We expect a huge resistance because we have seen Malaysia play and they are a skillful team.
“They are a team I like to see because they play advance football and are good in the attack,” said Hiddink.