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Published on January 31, 2008

The Chinese almost shocked the Thai boys within a minute of the start when Wang Wei tested Thai goalkeeper Surapong Tompa.

The Asean champions then outplayed the Chinese, who could not cope with the pace of the deft Ekapong, who netted his third and fourth goals of the tournament on 4 and 5 minutes, giving Thailand a 2-0 advantage. His first two go-als came in the game against the Netherlands on Tuesday. 

The Thais went into the break with a commanding 5-0 lead. Ekkhaphan, Sermphan Khumthinkaew and Natthapon Suttiroj scored the other first-half goals.

The Chinese let slip several clear chances with poor finishing until they got a consolation goal from Zhang Xi, who latched on to Li Xin's pass from the right before firing past the Thai goalkeeper on 35 minutes.

"A 5-1 victory was something beyond our expectations, much as our players were tired after drawing with the Netherlands," said Thai head coach Pattaya Piemkum.

Borruto Cristian continued his splendid scoring form to lead Argentina to a 7-1 victory over Malaysia in their second match in Group A.  

World champions Brazil beat Asian champions Iran 4-0. China take on the Netherlands in Group A action later in the evening.

Somporn Suphop

The Nation

Kuala Lumpur