The Chinese men's national football team had their first training session at Qatar University on Saturday since the 3-0 loss to Australia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament.

Despite the loss, players have not lost their spirits, team director Zhang He told Xinhua News Agency. Instead, the review of the loss as well as preparations for the next game against Japan have been going smoothly.

"Some of our players competed at this stage last time. They knew what was coming and have suffered losses too. Our players did not lose their spirits. They actually had some discussions about tactics," Zhang said.

"We haven't played any games against teams outside of Asia for over a year because of COVID-19, especially not against AFC (Asian Football Confederation) teams that have a higher ranking than us," Zhang said. "Australia have participated in multiple, consecutive World Cups and they are a top 4 team in the AFC. There is a lot for our team to learn from the loss against them."

Zhang said the managers watched every minute of footage from the lost game that night and discussed their findings with members of the starting lineup the next day. China will meet Australia again in their sixth game, so it's important to learn from their mistakes and make adjustments.

China face Japan in their second game on September 7. 

"We told players right after the loss that Japan had already departed for Doha after their first game. They arrived on the morning of September 3. We told our players the news to help them get over the loss as soon as possible so they can focus on preparing for the next game," Zhang said.

Managers have been studying Japan since the last stage of the World Cup qualification tournament, Zhang said, adding that Japan, like Australia, are China's main opponents on the path to Qatar 2022.

Zhang said the Chinese national team need fan support heading into a long road trip. 

"Every member of the national team will be spending a long time overseas," Zhang said. "We know why we have to go through this and that it means attending the World Cup qualification tournament. We won't spare any effort in any game. I hope we will have support and encouragement from everyone that cares about the national team."