Uzbekistan's Olim Novkarov (in white) celebrates his equalizer against coach Gao Hongbo (right) and his China team. China were sent packing by Uzbekistan at the Asian Cup, again. Photos: CFP

By Wang Wei

A huge question mark hung over the future of coach Gao Hongbo and his young team after China failed to qualify for the knockout round of the 2011 Asian Cup following their 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan at the Al Gharafa Stadium Monday.

At one point, goals from winger Yu Tao and Hao Junmin gave the national side a glimmer of hope, but four points from three matches were clearly not enough to put them through as leaders Uzbekistan and hosts Qatar moved into the second round with seven and six points respectively.

This was the second consecutive time China have been eliminated in the preliminary round of the Asian Cup - losing 3-0 in their last group game four years ago, also against Uzbekistan.

Gao, 44, got to know the cruel nature of modern soccer as the nation's media, who had declared him a hero when China won the East Asian Tournament at the expense of archrivals South Korea last year, unleashed their anger and disappointment over his strategy and substitution choices.

After being beaten 2-0 by Qatar in their second game, China were level with the hosts on three points, but languished in third place, needing to beat group leaders Uzbekistan by at least two goals to qualify. The "Rising Dragons" seemed to have fired up as the game kicked off and were rewarded with the best possible start in the 6th minute.

Right back Li Xuepeng headed the ball towards the goal via a free kick, forcing keeper Ignatiy Nesterov to go full stretch to keep it out. China then took advantage of the resulting corner as Yu Tao nodded in midfielder Yang Hao's cross at the near post.

In the 21st minute, Gao and his team came millimeters away from achieving the seemingly impossible when midfielder Zhao Xuri's fierce shot from the edge of the box rattled off the crossbar and bounced clear.

Unfortunately, the young Chinese side would learn just how fast the momentum can shift in the modern game, especially when you are playing against a more organized team.

Uzbekistan, who claimed full points in previous games, soon settled down and gradually took control of the game tempo with some fluid passing. They forced the Chinese strikers to withdraw from attacking positions and earned a well-deserved equalizer in the 30th minute.

Server Jeparov fed Odil Akhmedov with a pinpoint through ball after a series of successive passes, allowing the 23-year-old to dash forward and side-foot the ball into the far post.

China would roar back just five minutes later when striker Gao Lin headed Hao's cross towards the top-right corner on a counterattack. Nesterov, dubbed Uzbekistan's Iker Casillas, tipped the ball over the bar with an acrobatic maneuver just as Gao was about to celebrate.

Meanwhile, news came that Qatar were already 2-0 up against an absent-minded Kuwait, and the Chinese players knew they had to score two more to keep their qualifying hopes alive - but Uzbekistan showed no mercy as midfielder Aleksandr Geynrikh scored a brilliant long ranger just one minute after the break.

There were no signs of giving up from the Chinese underdogs as Hao, who plays for Bundesliga side Schalke 04, drifted in an unstoppable set piece from 30 yards out, sending devastated Chinese fans back to their TV sets.

Gao then brought on an extra striker to force a result, but some wasteful shooting and a superb Nesterov stood in between China and their target of two more goals.

With hope quickly draining away, Gao, arguably one of the most gracious figures in China's footballing history, vented his spleen against officials and was sent off in the dying minutes of the game, bringing with him any chances of a comeback.

Gao even absented himself from the post-match conference, leaving his position in serious doubt.

Despite the disastrous campaign, coaches and former players still praised Gao's fighting spirit and the sense of optimism he brought to the squad since taking over at the helm 20 months ago amid rampant bribe-taking and match-fixing scandals within the Chinese league.

The CFA believed Gao's "main task" is to make the young team more experienced and they thought he had "reached the goal."

"There's no way we will sack our head coach or any of the national team's coaching staff," team administrator Cao Jingwei was quoted as saying to the Xinhua News Agency.

But while the CFA was generous in assessing Gao, media and internet chatrooms were not so forgiving.

"Gao developed even more slowly than the players. It's time to change things around," read Titan Sports newspaper, a view then echoed by numerous fans on the wire.