Manama: China coach Li Ming is refusing to panic despite knowing his side need to pick up a positive result against Tajikistan in Tuesday’s 2016 AFC U-19 Championship to keep alive their hopes of a place in the quarter-finals.
The Chinese lost 1-0 to Australia in their opening game and former China national team midfielder Li is hoping his team can show the same defensive resilience that allowed them to keep a dominant Australian side at bay for much of the game.
“We’ve only lost one match, we still have two matches to play so we still have a chance and we will do our best to prepare well for our next game,” said the ex-Dalian Wanda midfielder.
“We only lost by one goal against Australia, so we still have a chance. We think our defence was pretty good against Australia and hopefully that will continue.”
Tajikistan go into the game having thrown away a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 to Central Asian rivals Uzbekistan, making the meeting a vital clash for both teams’ hopes of staying alive in the competition.
While a draw would not be a disaster – depending on the outcome of Australia’s meeting with the Uzbeks – China and Tajikistan will be aiming to claim all three points in what promises to be an enthralling encounter.
“The most important thing is to recover from the match against Uzbekistan,” said Tajik coach Vitalii Levchecnko. “Then we will be ready for the game against China.”
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Uzbekistan coach Jasur Abduraimov, meanwhile, saw his side overcome Tajikistan thanks to goals from Sayidjamol Davlatjonov and Jasurbek Yakhshiboev with the three points coming as the result of an impressive second half showing by his team.
"We respect all our opponents and will try to do our best against Australia,” he said. "Our target is to show the best football, game-by-game, step-by-step and then we will see.
"Our group is one of the strongest, there will be interesting games in this group. We will see and try. Each team has two or three different tactics, depending on the opposition."
Mario Shabow’s goal was enough for the Australians to overcome China at Bahrain National Stadium on Saturday evening and that win, coach Ufuk Talay believes, will give Australia added self-belief as they go into the meeting with Uzbekistan.
“Winning games give us more confidence, it always helps, but we take it one game at a time,” he said. “These games are challenging for us and we’re looking forward to the next game.”
Photo: AFC
Source: the-afc.com