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Belgium beats nine-man China 2-0 at Olympic soccer match
SHENYANG -- Nine-man host China were beaten 2-0 by Belgium in front of densely packed home fans in a Olympic soccer match here on Sunday.
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| Members of the Chinese team pose before their men's first round Group C soccer match against Belgium at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Shenyang August 10, 2008. China were beaten 2-0 by Belgium. [Agencies] |
Belgium opened the scoring at the 8th minute, when forward Moussa Dembele broke away Chinese defenders, dribbled the ball into the box, and fired a powerful left-footed shot home.
Forward Kevin Mirallas extended Begium's lead in the 80th minute by calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box.
China replenished gunpowder after lagging one goal behind. Their best moment came three minutes before break, when forward Gao Lin had a chance to face the goalkeeper one-on-one. But the opportunity was denied by Belgian defenders as Gao chose to pass the ball to a teammate running towards the front of the goal, rather than strike himself from the left.
China started fiercely at the second half. In the 53rd minute, defender Tan Wangsong was red-carded for kicking in the lower abdomen of Belgian defender Sebastien Pocognoli, who rolled on the pitch in agony.
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| China's Tan Wangsong (L) and Belgium's Maarten Martens fight for the ball during their men's first round Group C soccer match at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Shenyang August 10, 2008. [Agencies] |
The host team suffered another sting as Zheng Zhi, a midfield mainstay of Chalton Athletic, handed his captain armband to veteran defender Li Weifeng in the 64th minute after elbowing a Belgian player.
China had not won any matches in their only World Cup appearance in 2002 and previous Olympics experience in the 1988 Seoul Games, where they conceded a total of five goals.
The host country will take on medal favorites Brazil and the "Little Devils" will meet underdog New Zealand in their last group matches. 【已有很多网友发表了看法，点击参与讨论】【对英语不懂，点击提问】【英语论坛】【返回首页】
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