China U16 soccer team rallies past Tajikistan at Xingtai Cup

HOHHOT, May 13 (Xinhua) -- China's U-16 men's football team defeated Tajikistan 3-2 here on Wednesday to secure its second win at the 2026 CFA Team China Xingtai Cup International Youth Tournament.

Tajikistan opened the scoring in the 24th minute when Sulaimon Hojiev headed home from a corner. China equalized 11 minutes later as Yuan Bohan won and converted a penalty.

Yang Chenshuo gifted China 2-1 lead in the 47th minute, but Tajikistan responded quickly as Firdavsi Khalimov finished with a low shot three minutes later.

China made three substitutions in the 61st minute, introducing Li Jiajin, Xu Zijun and Peng Xiran. The changes paid off almost immediately, as Yuan assisted Peng to score the winner with a low shot just one minute later.

"Considering our own side and the quality of the opponent, Tajikistan's players are physically very strong, which makes them difficult to defend against," China head coach David Almazan said. "We still have room for improvement, both in man-to-man marking and set-piece defense and attack."

China's next match is on May 16 against South Korea, who defeated Tajikistan 7-0 earlier in the tournament.

"This victory is for all the fans who have been supporting us," said Yuan. "Against South Korea, we will play to our own style, follow the coach's arrangements, and go all out for victory." Enditem