“It was a very good way to start the tournament,” said Rodrigo. “We deserved the win but we cannot celebrate too much now because there are still more matches.”

Japan won the tournament when it was held in Uzbekistan in 2006.

Chinese coach Guillermo Franco said he was happy with how his team played because Japan were always the stronger team.

“It is difficult to start the tournament with a loss but we looked good at times,” he said.

“There is a big difference in standards between us and Japan and the scoreline proved this.”

Iraq delight

Iraq also opened with a victory in Group D, beating Turkmenistan 5-3.

Iraqi coach Asaad Al Hamadani said the win would increase his team’s confidence.

“With all due respect to Turkmenistan, we deserved this victory,” he said. “It was a difficult match and we are optimistic about our future in this tournament.”

Turkmen coach Victor Kurochkin, however, said his side did not deserve to lose.

“We fought hard and played on equal terms with our opponents. We didn’t deserve to lose but we will keep on fighting and are looking forward to our next matches.”