China captain Zhang considers international retirement

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China skipper Zhang Linpeng said he is contemplating retirement from the national team after the country was held to a disappointing 2-2 draw by Singapore in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

Chinese media deemed the tie a walkover for the visitors. China enjoyed a 2-0 lead in the first half after striker Wu Lei's brace, but a sloppy performance after the break allowed Singapore to come back with two goals.

The result left Zhang, a 34-year-old defender, in despondency.

"I think it's time for me to call it a day on my international career. When our team had problems in the match, the approaches we took were unacceptable to me," said Zhang.

"I felt we let our supporters down," he added.

Zhang's wife posted on social media an account of a talk they had after the game ended, during which the player expressed his wish to retire from the national team.

"I do think I couldn't have done better. I made 200 percent effort every day, but in no way I can accept a result like this," he told his wife in their talk.

"Let's call it quits," he added.

China, who will take on Singapore at home in Tianjin on March 26, now sits third in Group C with a 2-1 away win over Thailand, a 3-0 home loss to South Korea and the 2-2 tie with Singapore.

South Korea temporarily leads the group with 7 points. Thailand ranks second with 4 points after prevailing 3-1 at Singapore and drawing 1-1 at South Korea.

Singapore stays at the bottom with one point.

The top two of the group will advance to the 18-team third stage of the Asian qualifying tournament.