TIANJIN, China — Iraq ousted China from World Cup qualifying with a 2-1 victory Saturday.

Zhou Haibing gave China a 1-0 lead in the first half, but Iraq — the defending Asian champion — rebounded with a first-half goal by Emad Ridha and the winner by Nashat Akram midway through the second half.

"We feel very sad and regret that we missed the opportunity to qualify," Zheng Zhi said. "It's a chance that comes only every four years. We didn't play well. That why we failed to win."

In the 34th minute, it was Zheng Zhi who took an indirect free kick and passed to Zhou, who scored from 20 meters.

Iraq, playing without skipper Younis Mahmoud after the strike went off injured in the 11th minute, equalized in the final minutes of the first half on a 10-meter header from Emad Ridha, setting the stage for Akram's winner from 20 meters in the 66th.

China was eliminated with only three points in five games in Group One. Iraq had seven points in five games and plays its final qualifier on June 22 against Qatar. China plays at Australia the same day. The top two teams in the group advance to the final stage of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Australia and Qatar, each with seven points, were to play later Saturday.

The ouster could spell trouble for China's manager Vladimir Petrovic. Petrovic is handling the team with head coach Radomir Dujkovic, who is also coaching China's Olympic team.

China has qualified only once for the World Cup. In 2002 the team reached the finals, but lost all three group games and failed to score a goal — an embarrassment for the world's most populous country.