Victory against Thailand an encouraging sign for us, says China head coach Jankovic

BANGKOK - The head coach of China's men's national football team Aleksandar Jankovic said the victory over Thailand in the 2026 World Cup qualifier is a good sign as his side snatched a 2-1 comeback win here on Thursday.

Sarach Yooyen put the host ahead in the 23rd minute through a counterattack, but Wu Lei's slide-in and Wang Shangyuan's diving header helped China complete the comeback win.

"We are satisfied with the three points tonight. The first match against the third tier team is not easy, being one goal down from their first chance is not easy for us, but we showed our strength, from strength to strength, that's important to me, we showed our character," the Serbian noted.

"Of course we could not be totally satisfied, we still have ups and downs throughout the game, we need to solve this. In general, it's an encouraging sign for us," he added.

Wang, who scored the winner, emphasized there is still a long way to go.

"We have prepared this game for a long time under the coach, it is delighted to claim the victory. We aim to move into the World Cup, but we should take it step by step. After the celebrations tonight, we will focus on the South Korea game," Wang said.

In an earlier fixture on Thursday, South Korea crushed Singapore 5-0. China will host South Korea on Nov 21.