China have quarter-final berth in their sights

 Goalkeeper Wang Dalei was named Man of the Match in China's win over Saudi Arabia.

China aim to return to the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals for the first time in more than a decade with what they hope will be their first win over Uzbekistan at the continental championship, defender Zhang Linpeng said on Tuesday.

China are in good position to qualify for the second round from Group B after edging Saudi Arabia 1-0 on Saturday. They face Uzbekistan at Brisbane Stadium on Wednesday in a top-of-the-table clash for a potential place in the knockout phase.

China, though, have never beaten Uzbekistan at the Asian Cup from three previous meetings with a pair of defeats and a draw. Alain Perrin's men are fully aware their opponents will be a tough proposition but are focusing on their own game, not Uzbekistan's.

China's last trip to the last eight dates back to 2004, when they hosted Asia's flagship competition.

"We also played Uzbekistan at the last Asian Cup and that was a strong team," said Zhang. "They had very good players - experienced players. But we will worry about playing our game and be ourselves.

"We haven't qualified for the knockout stage for 10 years but now we have a very good chance after winning our first match. We'll just try our best."

Saudi Arabia coach Cosmin Olaroiu said China were fortunate to beat them after the game, and Zhang concedes Lady Luck was kind to his team. The Guangzhou Evergrande man, however, still believes China were the ones who deserved the three points.

"In the last match, we had many good chances but we just didn't take them," said Zhang. "But I think we had more desire to win than our opponents. We wanted to win.

"Of course we were a little lucky - we saved a penalty and scored from a deflected free kick but I still think we deserved to win."

Perrin plans to neutralize Uzbekistan by containing their creative fulcrum, Server Djeparov.

"Djeparov is rich in experience and has scored lots of goals in the Korean league," the Frenchman said. "We will have some special arrangements for him, especially on set pieces.

"We are off to a very good start. Our opponents in the next match will be stronger and are ranked fourth in Asia. They reached the semi-finals last time, and a lot of their players here played at the previous Asian Cup.

"I think the advantage we have on them is our teamwork and fighting spirit. You need to play three games in the group phase and if we want to qualify for the next round, we will have to play well in our remaining two games.

"The past is the past. I think we are very well prepared now."

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