Saudi Arabia was upset in an Asian Cup match on Saturday, with China beating them 1-0. The team from China saved a second-half penalty then scored a goal off a deflection from a defender.

Only two days into the tournament, everything was going according to plan for the Saudi Arabian team.

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They went into the tournament as heavy favorites and looked to impose themselves against a Chinese team that was lucky to make the 16-country tournament and advancing only as the best third0placed team in the qualifying groups.

However, China went in and produced the first real upset of the tournament.

The only goal of the match came from midfielder Hai Yu whose opportunity came when he banged his free kick into the back of the net only 10 minutes from the end of the game.

The shot came from his left foot and was launched from 30 metres out. It managed to clip the back of one of the Saudi defenders first, and then went in the direction of the goal already too far for the Saudi goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah.

Throughout the first half though, China dominated. While they almost fell behind in the second term when Saudi Arabia was awarded a penalty after striker Naif Hazazi was hacked down by Ren Hang, it wasn't meant to be.

Hazazi made a mistake with his kick, placing the ball straight into the legs of the Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei who was immediately mobbed by his teammates after making the save.

The Asian Cup marked the first tournament appearance for both teams. The result of the game could prove decisive to both team's chances to progress after Uzbekistan, the Group B favorites, beat North Korea (1-0) in Sydney.

Despite Saudi Arabia winning the Asian Cup three times, their team has been struggling in recent years as they have lost their group matches at the 2011 tournament. Their international ranking has slipped to 102, only six places below China.

China on the other hand is gunning for their first Asian Cup title.

TagsAsian Cup 2015