China to resume World Cup qualifiers against Guam

KUALA LUMPUR: China will take on Guam when the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup resume at the end of May.

Hosting the remaining matches of Group A in Suzhou, China will face Guam on May 30, before playing the Maldives on June 3, the Philippines on June 9 and Syria on June 15, according to fixtures released by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Thursday.

China, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea will host the remaining matches of their respective groups for round 2 of the Asian qualifiers, to be played from May 30 to June 15, 2021.

Round 2 comprises 40 teams which have been divided into eight groups. Each team plays home and away against other teams in the group. The eight group winners and the four best runners-up will advance to round 3.

Syria currently top Group A with 15 points and three matches to play. China are ranked second with seven points, but have a game in hand over Syria.

China have already beaten the Maldives 5-0 and Guam 7-0, but drew 0-0 with the Philippines and lost to Syria 2-1 in 2019, before COVID-19 interrupted the qualifying schedule. Agencies

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