China coach Jia Xiuquan has confirmed that Wang Shuang is a doubt to face South Africa in the second round of Group B fixtures in the Women's World Cup on Thursday as the Paris Saint-Germain star needs further assessment of her fitness level. 

The Steel Roses, who slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Germany in their opening game last weekend, must put their campaign back on track to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages. But Jia's side might be without their talisman when they take on the World Cup debutants. 

Speaking at a prematch press conference on Wednesday, Jia cast doubt on the involvement of Wang. "She is working very hard in the training session to gain match fitness, but I cannot answer for sure whether she will start the game or when she will play."  

"My backroom staff will conduct an assessment of her availability after the training. I'm deeply convinced that she will rediscover her form sooner or later. There's no need to rush," he added.

Jia still rued his side's missed chances as they were outclassed by Germany in their last outing. "My players created some opportunities against Germany, showing that we've made certain progress through the preparations for this World Cup," he said. 

"But we failed to translate any of those opportunities into goals, again confirming that Germany are a better team than us." 

Jia also stressed that Team China should turn their attention to the process instead of focusing so much on the outcome during the World Cup.  

"Rather than a positive result from the game against South Africa, I'm more looking forward to some better performance from my players," he said. 

"I believe that a victory comes when you are strong enough, and I believe in my players who made enough efforts to come here," he added.