China caused an upset in Group B of the Asian Cup by coming from a goal down to defeat Uzbekistan 2-1 in Brisbane.

Odil Akhmedov put Uzbekistan in front in the 22nd minute when his deflected shot beat Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei.

China fought back admirably in the second term, however, to equalise through Wu Xi, then take the lead thanks to an excellent Sun Ke solo effort.

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The result leaves China, which plays North Korea in its final group game, in prime position to top Group B, while Uzbekistan must battle it out with Saudi Arabia to stay alive in the competition.

The Saudis thrashed North Korea 4-1 in Melbourne to keep their hopes of a last-eight berth alive.

In a frenetic first half, North Korea took the lead through Ryang Yong-gi, before Naif Hazazi finished off a slick Saudi Arabian counter attack to equalise in the 37th minute.

Mohammed Al Sahlawi struck twice in the space of two second-half minutes to put the Saudis well in control.

Ri Yong-jik was dismissed late in the game for handling the ball on the line, and although Nawaf Al Abid missed the subsequent penalty, he did bundle the ball home after it rebounded off both posts to make the score 4-1.