Vladimir Petrovic, the head coach of Chinese national team, said on Friday that his footballers had prepared enough to win the crucial World Cup qualifier against Qatar on Saturday and did not worry about the opponent’s counterattacks.

«We are sure to win this match. It’s either our expectation or responsibility,» said the 53-year-old Serb at the pre-game press conference.

«But we need patience,» added the coach. «If the players cannot break the deadlock during the match, the fans should be patient to believe in and support them until they score, even in the last minute.»

Though China labored out a goalless draw in the extreme heat and humidity in Doha on Monday, Asiad champions Qatar still remained one point ahead of China in the race for the second spot as Australia pulled three points clear atop the Group One.

At the «Water Drop» Olympic Centre Stadium in Tianjin on Saturday night, China is desperate for a win to overtake Qatar before meeting Asian champions Iraq and Australia, who advanced to 2006 World Cup knockout stage, later in June.

However, after witnessing three ties so far, China only scored one goal in their first group match against Iraq when playmaker Zheng Zhi headed on a corner.

Lacking the ability to capitalize on the limited chances in the box seems to be China’s big headache. But Petrovic insisted that his side would be different in attacking tomorrow and deliver a good match.

«We have focused on solving the attacking problems these days. Many adjustments and improvements have been made. I’m sure the match tomorrow will be different. But just remember, all we need is three points and a 1-0 victory is enough for us to go further.»

As Qatar still held one point lead, the Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati would likely field an conservative 4-5-1 to at least seize an acceptable road draw.

But the Uruguayan-born striker Sebastian Soria, the lone target man up front could still pose threat to China’s defence as he could translate limited chances to goals even when their team was in disadvantageous position.The powerful central forward was nearly unstoppable in the air against China’s defenders on Monday.

Petrovic clearly saw that and said his side was wary of opponent’s intent.

«We know they will adopt counterattack tomorrow to find our mistakes. Though we are more ambitious to win, we won’t attack blindly regardless of the defence. In a word, we will be alert of their dangerous players in the front and achieve a balance in our strategy.»