China aims to create a successful run for the first time, having never won the Asian Cup
Petar Segrt’s Tajikistan side held China to a goalless draw at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on Saturday.
The second match of group A started with debutants Tajikistan maintaining firm possession, though with close to zero chances at attack.
The central Asian nation is the only debutant in Qatar 2023, having booked its place in the finals by topping a qualifiers group that included the Kyrgyz Republic, Singapore, and Myanmar.
Tajikistan attempmted to overtake China on the Qatar pitch.
In the final half, China managed to get out of defence and into attacking positions. \\Tajikistan expanded the pressure and looked for its first goal.
China struck a goal in the 81st minute, but the goal was overruled.
Tajikistan was statistically advantageous as they struck 20 goals with two on target and 51% ball possession.
Up until the end of the final stretch, neither team could secure a consistent attacking tactic, leaving the game to a draw.
The debutants earned their first-ever Asian Cup points against a Chinese team looking to rewrite it’s history.