Chinese striker Zhang Yuning (No.9) competes in the World Cup Asian qualifying match against Indonesia on October 15, 2024 in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The Chinese national soccer team secured their first win in the World Cup Asian qualifiers on Tuesday as they won 2-1 over Indonesia at home, ­ending a three-match losing streak to bag their first three points in the group.

The East Asian side will hope the win revives their campaign, while it was Indonesia's first defeat after having earned impressive draws in their earlier matches.

Team China's forward Baihelamu Abuduwaili scored the opening goal in the 21st minute with a volley from close range thanks to Jiang Sheng­long's assist to give China a one-goal lead in the first half. The 2023 Golden Boy award winner has been pinned as the new hope for China's offense.  

Chinese forward Zhang Yuning strengthened China's lead to two goals before halftime break after netting a goal in the 44th minute. 

An emotional Zhang burst into tears after scoring the goal, as the Beijing Guoan forward hasn't been competing in the domestic league for over a month.   

"I couldn't control myself at the time. I was very emotional. Scoring at such an important moment meant a lot, but what mattered most was that everyone on our team fought like warriors," Zhang said of his emotional moment.  

Indonesia's Thom Haye netted from the center of the box in the 86th minute to fuel the visitors attacking momentum, but their efforts were denied by China's defense. China's goalkeeper Wang Dalei was named the Man of the Match for the impressive saves he made during the match.

"I'm really happy that we secured a victory in our second home game. Even though we didn't perform well in the previous games, the fans never gave up on us, and I truly appreciate that," Wang said. "We've been carrying a lot of pressure, so winning this match made us really happy."

China's head coach Branko Ivankovic paid tribute to his players' defense.

"Indonesia did play very aggressively, but our defense was solid, and we didn't give them many opportunities in open play," Ivankovic told reporters at the post-match news conference through an interpreter. 

"Their goal came from a clearance mistake on our part. Indonesia is a strong team with many naturalized players who play in Europe, meaning this was a hard-fought victory for us."

Team China's previous three straight defeats have left the Chinese team rooted at the bottom of Group C. Tuesday's win made no change in the group ranking for China but only alleviated the team's goal difference from minus 10 to minus 9.

The top two teams in current group will directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the third- and fourth-placed teams move into a further round of qualifying.

On paper, Team China was not considered the favorite for the match against Indonesia, even though they sit in 91st place, significantly higher than Indonesia's world ranking of 129th. The doubt stemmed from Indonesia being bolstered considerably by a series of naturalizations of overseas-born players.

Indonesia currently have 10 players plying their trade in Europe, while the entire Chinese squad is based domestically in the Chinese Super League.

Historically, the Chinese national team only conceded once to Indonesia in 14 meets. The only defeat occurred in May 1957, when China lost 2-0 away in Jakarta. Since then, China has remained unbeaten in 12 matches against Indonesia over the past 56 years, with 9 wins and 3 draws. In 2004, Team China even achieved a 5-0 win.

China will visit Bahrain on November 14 before heading back to host Japan in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province on November 19.