KUALA LUMPUR (3rd Feb 2008) China ended their campaign in the KL World 5s on a winning note when they beat England 5-3 in the Bowl final which was played at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

CHINA Wu Zhuoxi (No.10 in red) - ENGLAND Alex Sykes (No.10 in white) - Chinese keeper Zheng Tao

But in reality England - long known as the whipping boys of the ten-team competition - were no match for the Chinese today as they fell behind very early on and showed little sign of catching up.

Zhang Xi and Wu Zhuoxi were the two early goal getters for China before England pulled one back in the 7th min via Luke Ballinger. But that was the closest the English could get to.

With some nimble footwork and terrific finishing, the Chinese raced ahead at 5-1 with goals from Zhang Xiao(12th min), Hu Jie(16th) and Zhuoxi(18th) to leave the English with plenty of hard work ahead.

Marc Canham reduced the deficit to 5-2 in the 27th min before Zhang Xiao(28th) and Zhang Xi(35th) took China ahead at 7-2.

CHINA Wu Zhuoxi (No.10 in red) - ENGLAND Shane Gill (N0.11 in white) - ENGLAND keeper Eric Pudaloff

Alex Skyes’s 38th min goal for England was but a reflection of the game in which the Chinese were a far superior side and took home the US$5,000 cheque.

“We moved well and created far more chances than England today. In fact, we could have been on a double digit score but all in all it was a good week for us here in Kuala Lumpur where we have shown so much improvement,” said China’s coach Guilherme Da Silveira.

CHINA Zhang Xi (No.6 in red) - England Alex Sykes (No.10 in white)

“We will be off to Brazil next month for a 16-team invitational tournament and then we hope to qualify for the final round of the Asian Futsal Championship in Bangkok in May.

FIXTURES and RESULTS (3rd Feb, 2008)

Bowl Final: England vs China	(3-5)
Plate Final: Holland vs Iran (5.00pm)
Final: Argentina vs Brazil (7.00pm)

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CURRENT STANDINGS

Group A
	P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS
ARGENTINA	4	3	1	0	28	5	10
AUSTRALIA	4	3	1	0	21	5	10
MALAYSIA	4	2	0	2	10	18	6
INDONESIA	4	1	0	3	10	16	3
ENGLAND	4	0	0	4	6	31	0

Group B
	P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS
BRAZIL	4	4	0	0	14	0	12
IRAN	3	2	0	1	9	6	6
THAILAND	3	1	1	1	8	8	3
HOLLAND	4	1	1	2	7	9	4
CHINA	4	0	0	4	3	18	0

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About the KL World 5's

The KL World 5's takes place between 29th January and 3rd February 2008 at Stadium Negara, Malaysia's first indoor stadium and a national heritage building. The event will be telecasted to over 310 million viewers across Asia on STAR Sports with over 100 hours of coverage, comprising 30 telecast hours, including 20 hours of live programming - translating into extensive media exposure for Malaysia.

The KL World 5's will have a total purse of US$150,000, and feature 10 teams in this prestigious tournament. The event is expected to draw futsal fans from Malaysia and the region with the pedigree of the international teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland and England will join the likes of Asian champion Iran, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and hosts Malaysia in action.

ESPN STAR Sports and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have a rich tradition of partnerships stemming from a multi-year strategic alliance signed in October 2005 to raise participation and interest in sport in Malaysia.

For more information, please visit www.klworld5s.com

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About ESPN STAR Sports

ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.

ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.  

On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.

For more information, please contact:

Abdul Rahman (Twenty Four Seven Sdn Bhd)
Tel: 012-6637454
abdulrahman@media247.com.my

Elgen Kua (ESPN STAR Sports)
DID: +65 6216 6034
kuae@espnstar.com