BEIJING - AFC General Secretary Dato' Peter Velappan offered his congratulations to Asian Cup 2004 champions Japan and praised China for hosting a "˜truly outstanding' tournament following the final on Saturday night.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Dato' Velappan praised both teams for an "˜excellent' final.

"Congratulations to Japan for defending the Asian Cup and to China for reaching the final and for a very excellent final match," he said.

"The final match in a championship is always difficult for teams. The Chinese team was very nervous as there was a lot of pressure on them and they did not settle down as quickly as the Japanese.

"Ultimately, it was the technical excellence and full-blooded professionalism of the Japanese that won the game.

"There is no shame in losing a final and China showed a lot of courage and dignity in presenting themselves in the final."

Dato' Velappan said that the AFC were happy with China's hosting of the Asian Cup 2004 and stated his belief that their national team would continue to improve as an international force.

"On the whole, the AFC is happy and proud that China hosted a truly outstanding Asian Cup and the China team, who were non-starters and no-hopers at the start did so well.

"They have built up the belief in themselves and they are now a better team. The Chinese people should be very proud of them.

"They must now move forward and use the experience of the Asian Cup to prepare for the World Cup Qualifying matches."