China's 5-a-side blind nationalfootballteam shrugged off inexperience to notch up its third straight win in its maiden Paralympics with a 1-0 defeat of South Korea Thursday.

China's Zheng Wenfa tries to evade three South Korean players in a 5-a-side preliminary September 11, 2008. The host won 1-0. [Xinhua]

Now at the top of the standings in a pool of six, China is the only side to have won all three games played after Brazil was forced to settle for a 0-0 draw with Argentina Thursday.

It means China has secured a seat in the final four with still two matches to play - against Spain and Brazil, bronze and gold medalists in Athens, Friday and Monday.

Li Xiaoqiang, the Chinese captain, scored the only goal in the 13th minute after his team was awarded a penalty.

But China missed a number of other scoring opportunities after taking as many as 24 shots at goal during the 50-minute match it thoroughly dominated.

Thirteen of them were by Wang Yafeng, who has been nicknamed the "Chinese Messi" by home fans after scoring twice in his team's first win against Britain.

The fact he told reporters that the Argentine superstar was his favorite player also lent weight his new sobriquet.

Like Messi, Wang's agility and ability to control the ball on the wing proved a serious headache for South Korea yesterday, until he was replaced following a serious collision with a Korean player in the final 10 minutes.

"Messi has always been my hero, because I also want to conquer my lack of height -- as he did -- to become a good footballer," Wang, who was born blind, said, noting Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at the age of 11.

But for his head coach, Wang has more to learn from his hero. "He (Wang) is an outstanding player, but he needs to convert more scoring opportunities," Dong Junjie told The Paralympian.

Although final-four qualification has dramatically increased China's medal chances, the low-key coach said his side's only goal was to enjoy the Games, as the team was formed less than two years ago.

In background information provided by Games' organizers, nine of 10 Chinese players had only one or two international caps before Beijing 2008, and their average age is only 20 years and 4 months.

Spain and Brazil have players with up to 63 international appearances.

"Our goal is to enjoy each single match we play," Dong said.

Also Thursday, Spain crushed Britain 3-1.