In the 81st minute, however, in one of China's rare attacking opportunities from a corner kick, Zhu Chenjie appeared to give his side a 1–0 lead from a header, but the goal was disallowed by the VAR system after Tyias Browning was judged to have interfered with play from an offside position.
Their most recent encounter dated back to 2009, having played home and away during 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification, with China emerging victorious in both fixtures.
In the 44th minute, a well-placed high ball from the left flank by Dai Wai Tsun led to Zhang Yuning's powerful shot, only for Lebanese keeper Mostafa Matar to deny it with a double save.
As the second half unfolded, Lebanon continued to test China with long-range shots, including a notable 63rd-minute attempt by Hassan Srour also hitting the crossbar.
In the 77th minute, in a failed attack from Qatar, Amadoni Kamolov quickly intercepted but his attempt was prevented by Mohammed Waad and Ahmed Al Ganehi, which he later fell and his feet hit the face of Al Ganehi; later VAR consultation resulted in Kamolov being dismissed from the match at the 81st minute, thus killing any hope of a Tajikistani comeback.
However, the teams' most recent meeting in any competitive fixture occurred during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, where China defeated Qatar away 2–1; both matches took place at the Khalifa International Stadium.
This proved costly when at the 66th minute, from a perfectly combined corner kick, Hassan Al-Haydos produced a thunderous volley to score the only goal of the match as Qatar confirmed first place in the group with maximum points.
This was later capitalised on by the Lebanese when, from a counterattack, Bassel Jradi produced a brilliant curled effort to record Lebanon's first goal of the competition and give them the lead.
Empowered by the goal, Tajikistan then went in front when Nuriddin Khamrokulov struck a strong header thanks to a cross from Ehson Panjshanbe in the second minute of stoppage time.