A fantastic start didn't secure China a win to enter into the knock-out stages of the AFC U23 Championship 2018, the host team placed third in the Group A after being defeated by Qatar 2-1 in the last game of the group stage in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province on Monday, bidding farewell to the competition

Uzbekistan beat Oman 1-0 in the other Group A match to progress into the last eight as the second-placed team in the group.

China was ahead after only four minutes as Deng Hanwen overcame defender Sultan Al Brake in the Qatar's penalty area before finding Yao Junsheng, who fired the ball into the net from close range.

"From the beginning of this match until the 35th minute we played very well, and the players put on a very good performance. We had a chance to make it 2-0 which would have been a very good start." China's head coach Massimiliano Maddaloni said after the match.