Midfielder Zheng Zhi scored a penalty to help China national soccer team beat Costa Rica 2-0 in a friendly on Wednesday.

It was China's first win after their early exit from the 2006 World Cup qualifiers and under the reign of new manager Zhu Guanghu, who filled in the vacancy left by the sacked ex-coach Arie Hann in March.

Zheng, viewed as the most promising young player in the reshuffled squad, gave China the 1-0 lead by scoring the penalty after forward Xie Hui was brought down in the box.

He started the second-leg campaign against Costa Rica back in the midfield, compared to his more striking role in Changsha whereChina managed a 2-2 draw.

Xie wrapped up the 2-0 victory ten minutes into the second half. The 30-year-old veteran made a fine combination with Wang Liang, who substituted Jiao Zhe in the 27th minute, as he latched on to the long pass from Wang in the right blank and fired home from close range.

"I'm satisfied with my players' performance, particularly in the second half. Costa Rica controlled the first half but we showed more determination and refound pace in the second," coach Zhu said after the match.

China, who only collected two away losses against Spain and Ireland during their European trip in March, were making their debut at home after the World Cup exit.

Zhu was happy to embrace his first victory on home soil after two defeats and a draw.

"After four international friendlies, I had got in my mind the basic lineup, which I would use for the upcoming East Asian four-nation championships," he said.

But Zhu also opened the gate for Chinese Under-20 players, who drew world's attention by reaching the second-round at the undergoing World Youth Championships in the Netherlands with unbeaten records, but failed to make the quarterfinal after a 3-2 loss to Germany.

"Some of the youngsters will join us after they come back, but the whole team will be based on the present lineup," Zhu said.

The Costa Rican side, refreshed from a long journey and time lag, looked a more confident side and took control of the first half.

But they failed to turn chances into goals as their young forward Bryan Ruiz wasted a couple of opportunities including a solo-run in the 15th minute, which beat the goalkeeper but was stopped by Chinese defender Li Weifeng.

Li, most active in the Chinese lineup, was the core of the Chinese solid defense and he made it hard for Costa Rica to organize effective attacking after 2-0 behind.

Costa Rica's head coach Alexandre Guimaraes, who led the national side outperforming China in their 2002 World Cup opener, was also satisfied with the results of their Chinese journey, for which they targeted to train young players and warm up their second-phase World Cup qualifiers.

"Although we lost, I don't have regrets for the risk of using new faces. We have some key players absent and we are here lookingfor other players who could cope with them better," he said.

"China won correctly and deserve it today, but all the days of travelling from one place to another and things like affected us very much in the second half."

Costa Rica, without two top players - Malaga's forward Paulo Cesar Wanchope and Brescia's defender Gilberto Martinez, didn't get the chance to train on the match field after arriving because of heavy rain.

The central American nation now takes sole possession of third place in the CONCACAF region with seven points, behind Mexico and the United States, where three tickets offered for the 2006 World Cup.

Source: Xinhua