Brazilian-born Ai Kesen joined La Liga side Espanyol striker Wu Lei in the start list with Yang Xu, but they are all of the visitors' strikers, Wei Shihao and Yang Liyu cut from the 23-man squad announced by the head coach Marcello Lippi few hours before the game kicks off.

The Philippines also had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock with two minutes left in injury time, but Schrock's attempt went high and wide.

With the win, the hosts secured their first point against China in three matches this year.