China making in-depth plans for qualifiers

Team China is working on a detailed plan for its final World Cup qualifiers, including preparing for the possibility that the squad's home games could again be moved because of the pandemic, Chinese Football Association president Chen Xuyuan has revealed.

Chen has been quarantining with the Chinese squad in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, following their return from the United Arab Emirates, where China won three games to reach the 12-team final phase of Asian zone qualifying.

The CFA boss said China's players and staff held a meeting at their quarantine hotel on June 19, two days after their return from the UAE, to begin preparations for the final qualifying phase, which will kick off in early September.

The draw for those qualifiers will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 1, with the 12 teams to be split into two groups of six.

Chen said one of China's biggest concerns is how to ensure their final-phase home games are not relocated due to China's stringent pandemic control policies, which saw their last three second-phase home games switched from Suzhou to Sharjah at the eleventh hour.

Both the Maldives and Syria squads could not get permission to enter China due to coronavirus regulations, prompting the Asian Football Confederation to move the remaining games to Sharjah in the UAE.

"We hope this will not happen again. We hope we will not lose our home advantage for the next phase of World Cup qualification," Chen said.

However, he admitted that the situation could ultimately be out of the CFA's control.

"It is an uncertainty. We have to be prepared in the event that our home games may be moved away," he said.

Chen also confirmed that Li Tie will remain as head coach for those matches. Some media reported that Li was unsure of his future, but Chen said: "There is no issue with Li Tie's contract extension. He is the head coach and will lead the team in the next World Cup qualifiers.

"We conduct an assessment of the coaching staff every year. If they can help the team progress on the right track, we should allow them to continue doing their job under stable conditions.

"We will not sack a head coach just because the team loses a game or two."

Chen added that China is lining up some high-quality opponents for friendly games ahead of the qualifiers.

"Our team needs to play some quality matches to prepare for the final phase of World Cup qualifying, which will be much tougher than the second-phase games. This is very important," he said.

Chen added that China will try to send more players to play in Europe after Wu Lei impressed during their World Cup qualifying campaign.

The 29-year-old striker, who plays for Espanyol in Spain, hit the net five times in China's last four games.

"If Wu Lei had not gone to play overseas, he would still be a good player, but he could not have been as excellent as he is now," Chen said.

"We need more players like Wu, and we have launched a plan to send more players to play in Europe. At the beginning of next year, we will have four or five players playing abroad."

Xinhua