The national soccer team on Sunday reduced China to eight men but could only manage a 1-1 tie in the opener of the East Asian Football Federation Championship.

In Daejeon, defender Sun Xiang gave China the lead in the 51st minute after taking a misplayed cross and blasting it past goalie Lee Woon-jae.

Kim Jin-kyu tied it in the 72nd minute with a 30-yard freekick, and with just eight minutes left, teammate Lee Dong-gook's shot hit the top bar from 25 yards out.

Chinese defender Cao Yeng's ensuing foul on South Korea's Kim Dong-jin in the penalty area earned Cao a red card for China's third ejection of the game.

Kim, however, failed to convert the penalty shot, but Chinese captain Lei Weifeng received a second yellow card before play resumed to reduce China to just eight men.

South Korea, however, could not capitalize despite launching a wave of attacks on the Chinese goal in the final moments.