group, though they failed to progress. Instead, it was the two experienced Saudi Arabia and Thailand which disappointed most of fans, finishing bottom after disastrous performances. In group C, Uzbekistan also surprised by topping the group with three straight 1–0 win while Japan and Iran were able to progress in group D after a final goalless draw and better result than Oman. Iraq was the other qualifier in group C, after beating both Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia only by one goal margin. The quarter-finals saw Jordan caused significant problem for Japan, and Jordan was thought to have almost qualified for the semi-finals in the penalty shootout. However, four straight misses later cost Jordan's semi-final dream to end. Uzbekistan and Bahrain held on in a 2–2 draw and Bahrain prevailed after penalty shootout. Host China easily crushed Iraq 3–0, with Zheng Zhi scored two penalties to take Iraq home, while South Korea and Iran created the most phenomenon match in the tournament, an insane thriller where Iran prevailed 4–3 in what would be perceived as the greatest Asian Cup match in the history. The first semi-final saw Iran and host China battling for the final, with both being held 1–1, despite Iran was down to ten men. China eventually won in penalty shootout. The other semi-final was another insane thriller between Bahrain and Japan, with the Japanese won after extra times thanked for a goal by Keiji Tamada in early minutes of the first half of extra times, thus sent Japan to the final against host China. Iran overcame Bahrain in a consolidating third place encounter, 4–2, to acquire bronze. The final in Beijing saw China lose to Japan, with a controversial handball goal by Koji Nakata that sealed the game. The win meant Japan had successfully defended their title they achieved four years ago. The outcome frustrated many Chinese supporters, who ended up rioting outside Workers' Stadium over referee's controversial decision allowing the handball goal of Koji Nakata. Officials Referees Mark Shield Abdul Rahman Al-Delawar Coffi Codjia Lu Jun Masoud Moradi Toru Kamikawa Kwon Jong-chul Saad Kamil Al-Fadhli Talaat Najm Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh Naser Al-Hamdan Shamsul Maidin Mohammed Kousa Chaiwat Kunsata Fareed Al-Marzouqi Ravshan Irmatov Assistant Referees Nathan Gibson Mahbubur Mahbub Liu Tiejun Yau Tak Lee Sankar Komaleeswaran Aries Soetomo Khalil Ibrahim Abbas Fathi Arabati Mohamed Saeed Ali Ahmed Al Qasimi Fayez Al Basha Ali Al Khalifi Chandrajith Marasinghe Bengech