China fear nobody now: Haan

China coach Arie Haan warned that the hosts feared no one after storming into the semi-finals of the Asian Cup football tournament.

A convincing 3-0 victory over Iraq in a fiery encounter on Friday means China will take on either South Korea or Iran in the last four.

But Haan insisted China were more than capable of winning their first Asian Cup title, despite the intense pressure that has built up over the past two weeks.

"The players are human, of course they will always feel pressure," said the Dutchman. "My job is to keep out a lot of the talk that does not belong.

"These players have to know that if they play their game, that anything is possible. They don't need to be afraid, whoever we play."

Protecting his players from the glare of media attention has been a problem for Haan, who has complained that being based at a busy Beijing hotel is a distraction for the team.

But so far China have made impressive progress to the last four of the tournament.

However, 2002 World Cup semi-finalists South Korea or three-times Asian champions Iran will provide a far sterner test than Iraq, or group opponents Bahrain, Indonesia and Qatar.

"We expect trouble," acknowledged Haan, who was a member of the great Dutch team of the 1970s that lost two World Cup finals.

"This is a very difficult competition to win. We will have to beat a lot of good countries. We know that."

China lost all three matches and failed to score a goal in their first World Cup appearance under Yugoslav Bora Milutinovic two years ago.

But Haan has created a more solid team, difficult to break down and more imaginative in attack.

"After the World Cup, China was a little bit down but we have a chance to bring it back up again," said the 55-year-old.

"With a little bit of luck we can be successful. The players have been told to go for it."