China stun with first Asian Cup scalp in 1-0 win over Saudis

Birthday boy Wang Dalei's penalty stop helped China upset Saudi Arabia 1-0 as a string of top saves made all the difference at the Asian Cup on Saturday.

South Korea and Uzbekistan also had their goalkeepers to thank as they both won by the same 1-0 scoreline on a cliff-hanging day two in Australia.

But the surprise result of the day belonged to China, who edged three-time winners Saudi Arabia in group B in Brisbane courtesy of Yu Hai's deflected second-half free kick. Just moments before the goal Wang, who was celebrating his 26th birthday, kept China in it when he dived to his left to save Naif Hazazi's tame penalty.

Victory put huge smiles on the faces of Alain Perrin's China, who have never won the Asian Cup and will now be eyeing their first appearance in the knockout stages since hosting the tournament in 2004.

"Our tactics worked very well, we hit them on the counter-attack and caused a lot of trouble for our opponents," Perrin said. "The match was very, very difficult for us but we gained a lot of joy from it. We've been preparing for this tournament for a long time."

South Korea, World Cup semi-finalists in 2002, but seeking a first Asian title in 55 years, got off to an unconvincing start as they beat Oman 1-0 through Cho Young-cheol's strike in stoppage time at the end of the first half in Canberra.