Red card turned match: Gao

China coach Gao Hongbo conceded the sending off of Kuwait ‘s Musaed Neda swung the tide in his side’s favour 2-0 Asian Cup win.

Both sides created chances in the opening half hour, but Kuwait’s task was made all the more difficult when defender Neda was dismissed after kicking out at China’s Yang Xu on 35 minutes.

The dismissal seemed to spark the Kuwaitis into action, with the Gulf Cup champions creating chances either side of half time, but Zhang Linpeng’s deflected 58th-minute strike and Deng Zhuoxiang’s free kick nine minutes later settled the points for China.

Despite challenging, Kuwait never looked like getting back into the game after the second goal and Gao admitted the dismissal of Neda proved a urning point in the game.

“All the Chinese players wanted to win the game, but after one of their players was sent off we controlled the match more than them,” Gao said.

“I am very happy to win this game because the first match is very tough.”

The win sees China level with Uzbekistan at the top of Group A after a promising display from their young brigade.

“We have two targets at this Asian Cup and they are to test the style of Chinese football at the moment and also let many players have the chance to play so they can show themselves and test their abilities,” Gao said.