'Hell to heaven' as China reignite World Cup hopes with late winner

Wu Lei's dramatic late goal gives China a lifeline in their quest to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

After a difficult start to their qualifying campaign, which saw them lose their opening two matches, China's hopes of reaching the World Cup were hanging by a thread.

However, Wu's goal has given them a lifeline and reignited their belief that they can still qualify for the tournament.

Wu's goal came in the 85th minute of China's match against Oman.

The forward latched onto a pass from Alan and fired a low shot into the bottom corner of the net.

The goal sparked wild celebrations among the Chinese players and fans.

China are now third in Group B, three points behind leaders Saudi Arabia and two points behind Japan.

They have two matches remaining in their qualifying campaign, against Saudi Arabia and Japan.

If they can win both of those matches, they will have a chance of reaching the World Cup.

Wu's goal was his fifth in the qualifying campaign.

He is now China's all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifying.

The goal also means that Wu has now scored in three consecutive matches for China.

China's next match is against Saudi Arabia on March 24.

If they can win that match, they will have a chance of reaching the World Cup for the first time since 2002.

The match against Japan is on March 29.