Preview: China poised to fight for breakthrough at Asian Cup

China is ready for a must-win opener at the upcoming Asian Cup and determined to enter the knockout stage for the first time since 2004.

After conceding an early goal against Oman in Australia on Saturday, China fought back to win the tuneup match 4-1, which was their last warmup match before the Group B opener on Jan. 10 in Brisbane.

"I'm happy to see we won the first match in 2015," said the French head coach Alan Perrin after the victory, adding that his side "is ready for the opening match".

Grouped with Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and DPR Korea, China will firstly fight to beat the West Asian opponent for a driving seat as Perrin has pointed it as a must-win game.

"The first game is the most crucial one. If we want to qualify for the knockout stage we must beat our first opponent," said the Frenchman two months ago in China.

However, it is not an easy task for Chinese national football team.

Since the 1-0 hard-won victory in World Cup qualification in 1997, China has never defeated Saudi Arabia so far, including the recent one defeat and one draw in the qualifiers for the 2015 Asian Cup, which will open on January. 9.

The following matches are also tough ones. Uzbekistan took the upper hand in the group battles of the past two editions, when they stopped China's journey to last-eight twice with one win and one draw respectively, leaving the opponent keeping underachieving with their worst results for this continental competition.

DPR Korea, despite losing to China in recent-year friendlies, succeeded to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals, proving they are much more experienced at big stage.

While China, who is the only side having failed to enter the last-round World Cup qualifying matches since 2002, must realize the fact that they could be regarded as the underdog team in the group to beat for points by the other three teams. That means China will need to deliver more than their best to meet Perrin's target.

Though most Chinese fans are not optimistic about the breakthrough, Perrin kept a positive attitude. The former Lyon boss even believed his side had strengths to top the group for promotion. "The players are ready to give the best they can," said the coach.

Perrin is China's eighth foreign coach in history following a search to replace Spaniard Jose Antonio Camacho, who was sacked after a humiliating 5-1 defeat by Thailand last June.