Chinese Taipei earn comfortable win over Timor-Leste in World Cup Qualifiers

Chinese Taipei are in an advantageous position going into the second leg.

Chinese Taipei were in top form to defeat Timor-Leste 4-0 in their Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ tie on Thursday 

The result places the East Asian side firmly in the driver’s seat going into Tuesday’s return leg. 

Both sides jostled for possession at the start of the contest but it was Chinese Taipei who struck in the fifth minute when Wen Chih-Hao sent his free-kick deep into the box for Kouame Samuel to square it perfectly for Yu Yao-Hsing to slot into an empty net.

Timor Leste came close moments later when Mario Quintao pounced on a poor clearance but his effort to get into shooting position was thwarted by Chinese Taipei’s Chen Wei-Chuan. 

Quintao was causing all sorts of problems for Chinese Taipei down the left flank and he almost found a way through in the 10th minute, chipping over the onrushing Pan Wen-Chieh only to see his effort sail over the bar.

Chinese Taipei came close in the 20th minute, first with Wen Chih-Hao finding space at the top of the box, evading his marker before seeing his effort deflected for a corner while Chen Ting-Yang angled his header above the bar.

The Chinese Taipei defence was almost caught napping two minutes later with Berdila sending a delightful ball for Olagar Xzvier who did well to beat the offside trap but not Pan Wen-Chieh whose quick reflexes deflected the ball out of play.

At the other end, Chinese Taipei wasted an opportunity to double their lead when Yu Chia-Huang sent a well-timed cross into the box for Yu Yao-Hsing, who fumbled his attempt from close range.

Timor-Leste kept Chinese Taipei on their toes at the start of the second half with Joao Pedro threatening in the 52nd minute when he almost converted off a well-organised buildup.

However, Chinese Taipei doubled their lead in the 57th minute through Chen Ting-Yang’ when he converted off a rebound following Samuel’s cross into the box off a clever set-piece situation.

The East Asian side further tightened their grip on the game with their third goal through the individual brilliance of Samuel, who dispossessed Junior Costa before dribbling past the Timor-Leste defence and setting up Yu Yao-Hsing to finish with a close-range header.

Ko Yu-Ting then beat the offside trap to collect Lee Hsiang-Wei’s through ball before striking past keeper Filonito Nogueira in the 88th minute.