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Brisbane - China scored twice in 13 minutes to come from behind and upset Uzbekistan 2-1 at the Asian Cup on Wednesday to book themselves a spot in the quarter-finals.
China started the tournament as an outsider for the title but after winning their first two Group B matches in dramatic fashion, they are now assured of finishing top of their pool with a game to spare.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime against the group favourites, China drew level after 55 minutes when Wu Xi scored then snatched the lead with a spectacular solo strike from substitute Sun Ke.
"This is great news for us, we played a very beautiful match," said China's French coach Alain Perrin.
"We were a little nervous at the start but we started getting more space in the second half and our opponent was getting tired."
Uzbekistan, who took an early lead through an opportunist goal from Odil Ahmedov, could not find a late equaliser and now face Saudi Arabia in their final group game in Melbourne on Sunday to decide the pool runner-up.
