It was Uzbekistan's first ever appearance in the AFC Asian Cup, since the demise of USSR. In the tournament, although being regarded as the weakest team, Uzbekistan surprised all predictions by defeating China 2–0 right on their opening account. Uzbekistan, however, lost two remaining matches to Japan and Syria, thus had to end up in the group stage. Uzbekistan's maiden victory over China, however, remained as the biggest achievement for Uzbekistan before 2004.
