SHENYANG -- Nine-man host China were beaten 2-0 by Belgium in front of densely packed home fans in a Olympic soccer match here on Sunday.

Members of the Chinese team pose before their men's first round Group C soccer match against Belgium at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Shenyang August 10, 2008. China were beaten 2-0 by Belgium. [Agencies]

Belgium opened the scoring at the 8th minute, when forward Moussa Dembele broke away Chinese defenders, dribbled the ball into the box, and fired a powerful left-footed shot home.

Forward Kevin Mirallas extended Begium's lead in the 80th minute by calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box.

China replenished gunpowder after lagging one goal behind. Their best moment came three minutes before break, when forward Gao Lin had a chance to face the goalkeeper one-on-one. But the opportunity was denied by Belgian defenders as Gao chose to pass the ball to a teammate running towards the front of the goal, rather than strike himself from the left.