Photo: VCG

The Chinese national football team secured a key win in the World Cup Asian qualifying round on Thursday, beating Bahrain 1-0 away from home and moving up to fourth place in the group.

Beijing Guoan forward Zhang Yuning scored the only goal for China in the 90th minute. 

Both China and Bahrain were seeking to get their qualifying campaigns back on track, but chances were scarce at the Bahrain National Stadium. 

Thursday's match was the first time under coach Branko Ivankovic that no naturalized players appeared in the starting lineup for China.

The 70-year-old Croatian has stated that the goal for the team is a top four finish in the group, which would take them through to the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers. 

The Chinese team, which is now ranked 92nd in the world, played Thursday's match without several key players, including injury-plagued domestic top striker Wu Lei. Midfielder Xie Wenneng, who scored against Australia in the 3-1 defeat in October, was also missing.

The Chinese team will next host Japan in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, on Tuesday.

Chinese forward Behram Abduweli will have to skip the Japan match due to accumulation of yellow cards, after receiving a caution in the 20th minute against Bahrain.