BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA--China coach Alain Perrin promised to celebrate in style after substitute Sun Ke fired his team into the Asian Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Sun's superb individual goal just two minutes after coming on gave China a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan and their first Asian Cup quarter-final in 11 years.
The win was a triumph for Perrin's tactics, the Frenchman tinkering with his personnel and formation as the Chinese overpowered Uzbekistan in a pulsating second half.
"I'm going back to the hotel and I will open maybe two bottles of good champagne," a delighted Perrin told reporters.
"After the first match (a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia) we had just a small celebration within the coaching group. This time I think I will ask my players to join us."
Man of the match Wu Xi revealed that the celebrations had already started, with team personnel dancing on the dressing room tables after the match and diving into the ice baths.
China had good reason to savour the win, which ensured they reached the last eight for the first time since making the final on home soil in 2004.
After trailing 1-0 at half-time to a 22nd-minute goal from Odil Ahmedov, China levelled through Wu after 55 minutes, before Sun's 68th-minute stunner.
With Uzbekistan seeming to tire in Brisbane's heat and humidity, Sun picked up the ball 35 metres out, drove to the edge of the box and unleashed a powerful strike, beating the despairing dive of keeper Ignatiy Nesterov and finding the bottom lefthand corner.
Uzbekistan coach Mirdjalal Kasimov refused to blame the conditions for the second-half fadeout.
- Chinese confidence -
"It was very, very hard to play in such kind of weather conditions," he said. "But both teams were in the same situation, so it wasn't just our problem."
The win means China are now certain to top Group B and will meet either South Korea or Australia in Brisbane in the quarter-finals on January 22.
"Today we played a beautiful match, now we can move to the knockout stage as the group winners," said Perrin, whose team went into the match brimming with confidence after upsetting Saudi Arabia.
Playing in front of thousands of red-shirted Chinese supporters, they dominated early before the Uzbeks began to get into the match.
Ahmedov and Uzbek captain Server Djeparov started pulling the strings in midfield, and they took a well-deserved lead when Ahmedov scored from distance, the ball taking a huge deflection off a lunging Wu and finding the back of the net.
But China were a different side after the break and Wu made amends for the earlier deflection when he powered home after a flick across goal from Gao Lin.
Then it was Sun's turn to shine, and soon China were partying.
Uzbekistan must now beat Saudi Arabia in their final group game if they want to progress to the final eight.
"We were better in the first half but in the second after we conceded the first goal China became so strong and they changed the game," Kasimov said. "All my players did their best and they played well, but China was better after their first goal."
AFP
