AFC U23 Championship: The White Wolves targeting only three points in a crucial China PR clash

The defending champions were held to a 1-1 draw in their opening match, and with a final group stage clash against a strong Korea Republic outfit still to come, there will be little room for error when they meet a Chinese side chasing their first points of the competition.

While Drulovic believes his side is capable of challenging any team in Thailand, he knows a win on Sunday would make for a much easier path to the last 16 and believes there is no reason why his side can’t be successful against China U23 side.

“With things as they are, we want to win the next game,” said the former Partizan Belgrade boss.

“We know having the third game against the Korean team is very difficult.

“This group has very good teams, but I think we have the capacity, in my opinion, and the quality to win.”

Uzbekistan enjoyed plenty of possession but endured a number of difficult moments in their opening draw against Iran, with both sides squandering second half chances to take all three points.

While Drulovic concedes his side did not reach their full potential on Matchday one, he insists taking a point against an Iran outfit he considers strong was far from a bad result, and that Uzbekistan’s bid for a maiden Olympic appearance remains on track.

“It’s not easy to play against Iran. They are not a secret in football,” Drulovic said.

“They’re good team who play very well. it’s not easy to beat them and we tried our best.

“That’s football. I think we prepared very well for this tournament, and we will try to give our best performance in both remaining games in this group.

“Going to the Olympics is our big dream.”

Although Drulovic could console himself with the fact his side avoided defeat, there was no such comfort for Chinese boss Hao Wei, who saw his team fall to a 1-0 loss with one of the last kicks of the game after keeping the highly-fancied Korea Republic at bay for more than 90 minutes.

The two sides met on Matchday Two of the 2018 AFC Championship in Changzhou, with current Uzbekistan right-back Khojiakbar Alijonov scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win.

Fixture
China PR vs Uzbekistan
Venue: Tinsulanon Stadium (Songkhla)
Kick-off: 18:15 (GMT +5)