Djeparov was named MVP for the 2-2 draw with China in a Group A that confirmed Vadim Abramov side’s place at the head of the group and they will now take on the runners-up in Group B in the quarterfinals.

Uzbekistan’s two previous appearances in the last eight have ended in defeat. In 2004 they lost out to Bahrain on penalties while three years later Saudi Arabia beat them 2-1 in one of the best games of the tournament.

“I think we have to qualify for the semifinals this time,” said the FC Seoul midfielder. “Our plan is to go as far as the semis, that’s the target of the team and that’s my target.

“There are a lot of good teams in this tournament. South Korea, Australia and Japan have shown great performances in the group stages of this competition up until now.”

The Uzbeks will play either Japan, Syria or Jordan in the knockout stages and Djeparov’s team mate Azizbek Haydarov is confident his side can perform well no matter who they face.

“I think in the quarterfinals we can play against any team, whether it will be Japan, Jordan or Syria,” he said.

“We’re into the quarterfinals and we have shown our performance and we can play against any team in this championship.

“The Uzbekistan national team is improving from game to game. We are going in the right direction. Our youth national team qualified for the youth World Cup final stages and we’re playing well at this Asian Cup.

“This match was very difficult for us because it was the last chance for China and they tried to score important goals and I think it was very difficult.”