Forward Xie Hui pounced on a long pass and fired it into goal to lift China to a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica in a soccer friendly Wednesday in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
Xie also played a role in China's first goal, when he was brought down in the penalty box late in the first half.
Midfielder Zheng Zhi calmly fired the penalty home in the 45th minute as the partisan crowd roared its approval.
Ten minutes into the second half, Xie took a pass from teammate Wang Liang and slotted it into goal.
It was the first win for China under new manager Zhu Guanghu, who was appointed in March.
China has been struggling to recover after its elimination from the World Cup in qualifying rounds last November.
Zhu is the first Chinese manager to lead the team in a decade.
In an earlier friendly on Sunday, China and Costa Rica drew 2-2.
Costa Rica is third in the final round of World Cup qualifying in the North and Central American and Caribbean region, behind Mexico and the United States. The top three teams earn berths in next year's tournament.
