Chinese team wins kudos despite Asian Cup loss

China is full of praise for its national team which was knocked out of the Asian Cup on Thursday following a heroic campaign in Australia.

A brilliant individual performance from Tim Cahill ended the impressive run of China and helped host Australia through to the semifinals with a 2-0 victory.

"Team China has been incredibly good and progressing tremendously,"

an Internet user named "duke2481" said on popular Hupu chatroom. "We shall thank the team for giving us wild joy in the past two weeks."

A young Chinese side led by Frenchman Alain Perrin won three straight group matches, whipping up enthusiasm for the beautiful game in the most populous country. Quite a few Chinese began to fancy a victory over Australia, citing the team's better record against the rival.

China had beaten Australia twice and tied once in their last three meetings.

In a pulsating and physical encounter in the Brisbane Stadium, World Cup veteran Cahill struck twice in 15 minutes, once with an incredible acrobatic overhead kick and again with a craning header.

"It was a pity that we don't have an instrumental player like Cahill," said a fan surnamed Chen on Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. "Cahill, as the talisman, was so confident and experienced that he single-handedly lifted Down Under over the Great Wall."

Before the Asian Cup opened, Chinese were not so sure about their team, with 42.7 percent of Web users surveyed by the popular Chinese news portal Sina didn't expected China to reach knockout round.

A surprise run in the Asian Cup has raised Chinese hope in the game and earned a seeding position in the World Cup qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup finals.

"Team China have tried their best in the Asian Cup. We will always be behind you," the People's Daily commented.

"Chinese players don't need to apologize for the loss this time. You give us hope and have shown your strength. We are so proud of you and expecting more happy surprises from you," added the influential newspaper.

Over 10,000 Chinese sang the national anthem and waved the red flag in the 46,000-seat stadium and they picked up empty bottles and trash when they left the stadium.

"The Chinese team have demonstrated grit and determination. I am so happy and grateful," said a Weibo user named Boiling Water.

"The wonderful memory of the Asian Cup will stay for a long time."