China eye second FIFA World Cup appearance in history

SHENZHEN: China’s men’s national football team has begun its 13th quest for the World Cup, targeting a spot in the 2026 tournament to be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The Chinese team has gathered in the southern city of Shenzhen for its final training camp before their upcoming match against Thailand away in the Asian qualifiers on Thursday, reports Xinhua. In an interview with Xinhua, head coach Aleksandar Jankovic expressed his confidence in leading the team to qualify for its only second World Cup, with the first in 2002.

“I feel even more confident because I met all these magnificent people in the team, players and around the team, also all the people around are highly motivated and very competent and fast thinking and fast working guys. So we are all pushing in the same direction, which is very, very important. We have players who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the team,” Jankovic said. Appointed as China’s head coach in February, Jankovic has guided the team to three wins, two draws, and three defeats in warmup matches. The 51-year-old Serbian noted that his team has been fully prepared through these matches. (IANS)

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