AFC Asian Cup: China coach vows changes after ‘lot of stress’ in opening draw with Tajikistan
- Aleksandar Jankovic’s China team struggle initially against debutants Tajikistan before having late goal ruled out by VAR
- Chinese next in action against Lebanon on Wednesday, and Jankovic says: ‘We need new energy’
China head coach Aleksandar Jankovic promised to make changes after the country failed to win their opening AFC Asian Cup finals match for the first time in five editions of the tournament in Qatar.
Jankovic’s side spent long periods on the back foot in a 0-0 draw with competition debutants Tajikistan on Saturday, struggling to get to grips with the newcomers’ purposeful, imaginative football at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha.
Victory over Lebanon on Wednesday would still all but guarantee China’s progress to the knockout stages for the third successive Asian competition, but their first outing had left plenty of room for improvement.
“The will be some adjustments,” Jankovic said. “We need new energy, there are different requirements in each game. The target is the same, to win, only the path is different.”
The Chinese finished strongly following a raft of substitutions and thought they had denied their opponents a first Asian Cup finals point when Zhu Chenjie headed home with eight minutes remaining.
