The 28-year-old was in the starting line-up four years ago when the Chinese lost 3-0 to the Uzbeks in Kuala Lumpur to miss out on the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years.

With that match in mind, there is an obvious feeling of déjà vu about the Group A clash between the two sides at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Sunday with the Chinese needing a positive result to avoid going out at the group stage for the second tournament in a row.

But Du is avoiding any comparison between the match situation of 2007 and now.

“The past is already the past and the China team now is different. In 2007, the situation was completely different because we brought a different team to the AFC Asian Cup,” said the Hangzhou Greentown centre-back.

“Of course, it was a bit disappointing to go out so early in the last AFC Asian Cup but that’s just something that happens in football tournaments. You can see that in this year’s Asian Cup with Saudi Arabia. They are three-time Asian champions and they did very well in the last Asian Cup but this time they have been eliminated after only two games.

“Anything can happen on the football field.”

While China are still trying to field a competitive side at this year’s AFC Asian Cup, the focus for coach Gao Hongbo is very much on the future with half of his squad in Qatar under the age of 23.

And as one of the team’s senior players, Du sees a lot of positive signs in the current squad.

“Comparing this team with the one that went to the World Cup in 2002, I think that there are quite a lot of similarities,” said Du, a veteran of the campaign in Korea nine years ago.

“I think that the team is united and the atmosphere among the players is very good. There are a many lot of reasons for why we have not done well recently and failed to qualify for the last two World Cups but we are working hard to improve the team.

“Of course there are problems that we have to work out but I believe that Chinese football is getting better and better.”

And Du accepts that he and fellow World Cup 2002 veteran, midfielder Qu Bo have a huge role to play as mentors to the younger players.

“Qu Bo and I are the big brothers on this team because we are older than the other players and we have the experience of playing at the World Cup,” he said. “We want to help the young players and we are trying our best to help to build the team for the future.”