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China Tie with Kuwait to Advance
China tied with Kuwait 0-0 and both went through to the quarter-finals, along with South Korea, who defeated Indonesia 3-0 on Thursday in first-round group B actions in the Asian Cup.
China and Kuwait finished with five points each and China atop in the group with goals advantage, while South Korea booked a berth in the last eight as one of the best third-placers in the three groups.
Friday's group C matches will see the end of the first round. The quarter-finals round starts from October 24.
Chinese head coach Bora Milutinovic was so pleased with China's performances that the Yugoslav said he wished China could meet Kuwait in the final.
"We scored six goals and finished first in the first round. We've done what we could do," he said.
On the other hand, his Kuwaiti counter-part Dusan Uhrin, said his team was trying to find the problem in their attacking force.
In a match lack of motivations, China and Kuwait held back their attacking power to ensure the first two places finishing within them.
Kuwait, who surprised South Korea 1-0 on last game, almost took the lead when Ahmed Mutairi lopped over goalkeeper Jiang Jin in the 29th minute. But defender Li Weifeng stood on the line and headed the ball out.
Resting half of their first-choice squad, China found the best chance to score in the 57th minute as play-maker Ma Mingyu's free-kick bounced off the defenders wall before Kuwait's goalie Falah Dabshah dived for a spectacular save.
In Beirut, forward Lee Dong-Gook had a hat-trick to send the South Koreans into the knock-out round, where they will face Iran, who finished first in group A.
"Iran has quality players with good technique and advantage of high balls in the air, but we're ready to meet them," said South Korean coach Huh Jung-Moo.
Indonesian goalkeeper Komang Putra Adnyana's brilliant performances denied several scoring chances from the South Koreans, but Lee outclassed Indonesian defenders to score in the 30th, 76th and 90th minute.
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