China aims to slay dragons

Formidable obstacle of Gareth Bale's Wales stand in host's way as China Cup kicks off in Nanning

China's national team faces a stern test of its credentials when it faces Gareth Bale's Wales in Thursday's opening match of the China Cup International Football Championship in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Real Madrid superstar Bale strikes fear in any opponent, so stopping the marauding Welsh wizard will be key to China's chances of overcoming the Dragons and reaching Monday's final of the fourteam, FIFA-sanctioned tournament.

After failing to qualify for this summer's World Cup finals, China has now turned its attentions to preparing for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Thirteen players from Chinese Super League champion Guangzhou Evergrande and this year's early CSL pacesetter Shanghai SIPG make up the bulk of Marcello Lippi's 27-man squad, which includes such familiar faces as SIPG's Wu Lei, Yu Dabao of Beijing Guo'an and Evergrande's Gao Lin.

China will look to SIPG's Wu to breach the Welsh defense, with the 26-year-old starting the CSL season in prolific form - firing four goals, including a 12-minute hat-trick, against Guangzhou R&F last Sunday to take his tally to seven in just three matches.

Much has been made of the CSL's new under-23 player quotas this season, and Lippi has selected four players in that age bracket - Evergrande's Deng Hanwen, Liu Yiming of Tianjin Quanjian, Guo'an's Wei Shihao and He Chao of Changchun Yatai.

The only big surprise in Lippi's lineup is the absence of 38-year-old captain Zheng Zhi, who, according to Tencent Sports, is being rested with next year's Asian Cup in mind.