China roar back from behind to reach Asian Cup quarter-finals

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Coach Marcello Lippi hailed China's fightback on Sunday (Jan 20) after they staged a second-half revival to beat Thailand 2-1 and reach the Asian Cup quarter-finals.

The giant nation were all at sea as they fell behind to Supachai Jaided's opener but they hit back after the break through substitute Xiao Zhi and Gao Lin's well-taken penalty.

It meant China live to fight another day under Lippi, who is expected to step down after the Asian Cup, while Thailand will know they were beaten by a superior team.

"I'm very satisfied with the win. It was not an easy game because the opponent was very tough," said Lippi, who coached his native Italy to victory at the 2006 World Cup.

"We didn't play very well in the first half because we made a few mistakes but I'm very happy with the reaction from my players, especially in the second half where in the end we created many chances.

"It was a great performance in the second half, so I'm very happy for the victory and the fact that we got to the quarter-final."

Thailand weren't going down without a fight and in injury time, Teerasil Dangda wasted a good chance and Pansa Hemviboon had Yan at full stretch with a powerful shot.

But ultimately it was China who joined Vietnam in the last eight, after the Southeast Asian champions stunned Jordan on penalties after a tense 1-1 draw in Dubai.

It ends a rollercoaster tournament for Thailand, who sacked their coach Milovan Rajevac after their 4-1 drubbing by India but recovered to reach the last 16.

"It's a shame we couldn't qualify for the last eight but this is already a bonus given how we started the competition," said interim coach Sirisak Yodyadthai.

"It's a pity that we couldn't keep it at 1-0," he added. "I'm very proud of the players, there's no shame in losing."