China up against Timor-Leste in Asian Games football

World
Europe

01:37

China's under-23 national team will play their opener at the Asian Games this evening, as they face Timor-Leste in Group C. Ahead of tonight's contest in the city of Soerang, China's final training session focused on attacking and communicating.

The local football complex contains four training pitches, more than the nearby university where China held their first few practices. On the eve of the side's opening match, this session was less intense than those of the preceding days, and the training time basically simulated a real match.

During the practice sessions, captain He Chao, the Changchun Yatai midfielder, took center stage as his teammates kept passing him the ball.

Soccer is one of several sports getting underway prior to Saturday's opening ceremony. The men's tournament includes 25 teams split into six pools.

All eyes on China U23 captain He Chao ahead of the game against Timor-Leste /VCG File Photo

A confident He Chao said: “This will be my first time playing against Timor-Leste. I think they will be strong players."

“In fact, they are just like the players from Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. They are very fast and quite nimble.”

Meanwhile, Chinese forward Wei Shihao mentioned, “Our coach was very kind to me, and talked a lot with me alone, giving me more suggestions."

“He hopes that I can be an excellent player. I will try to reward him by helping us win more matches.”

After tonight's opener with Timor-Leste, China will play against Group C rivals Syria on Thursday, and the UAE on Sunday. The top two squads in each pool, plus the four best third-place sides will advance to the knockout stage. The final is set for Sept. 1.