China begins long march for World Cup miracle
China begins long march for World Cup miracle
HONG KONG (AFP): China will be looking to its overseas stars for "a miracle" in its quest to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time.
On paper, the East Asian powerhouse's only serious workout in group nine of the Asian qualifying competition should come from Indonesia.
Minnows the Maldives and Cambodia, the other teams in the group, kick off the group in Male on Sunday.
China made the Asian Cup semifinals in Lebanon last year before losing to Japan 3-2, letting a 2-1 second-half lead slip.
Despite that disappointment, the Chinese team looks the strongest outfit in group nine.
It is crammed with talented players such as Fan Zhiyi of English first division Crystal Palace and Yang Chen who makes his living with Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga.
National captain Zhang Enhua plays for English first division side Grimsby,
And Serb coach Bora Milutinovic will be looking for a double- digit score when his side hosts the Maldives at the Shianxi Provincial Stadium on April 22 in their first group match.
"I have told them to trust themselves and to trust me so we can create a miracle," he told Xinhua, adding that he would be working on raising morale at training camps in Kunming and Xian.
In an indication of how seriously China is taking its World Cup campaign, the sina.com website said the Chinese Football Association had already sent two people to the Maldives to check on facilities there.
The FA will form a delegation of 40 people, including 22 players, for the clash there on April 28.
Bora meanwhile will watch in person the Indonesia vs Maldives and Maldives vs Cambodia matches.
Indonesia, runner-up in last year's Tiger Cup, was beaten 4-0 by China at the Asian Cup last year. But Milutinovic admitted at the time that it was a difficult match.
Indonesia now has a new man at the helm in Benny Dollo and its hopes of an upset will rest with the PSM Makassar trio of Hendro Kartiko, Bima Sakti and Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto.
It opens its campaign at home to the Maldives on April 8 before heading to China on May 13.
Indonesia hosts the group favorite two weeks later.
All matches in the group will be played on a home and away basis from April 1 until May 25.
In addition to host nations Japan and South Korea, two or three nations will qualify from the Asian Football Confederation.
While Cambodia will struggle to take the points in its opening clash, its real problems start a fortnight later when it plays host to the Maldives.
At this stage, it is not certain that they will have a stadium.
Renovations on the capital's premier Olympic Stadium ceased a month ago when the contractor walked off the job claiming lack of funds, leaving embarrassed soccer officials scouring the city for another venue.
They settled on the crumbling, derelict French colonial-era Lambert Stadium on the banks of the Tonle Sap river and workers have begun hand planting the grass pitch -- blade by blade.
"It will be ready in time for the April 15 home game against the Maldives. We will also play China here on May 6," says Khek Ravy, president of the Cambodian Football Federation.
Despite the optimism, the task looks all but impossible. With the clock ticking, there is twisted metal and rubble everywhere.
Although few expect a victory on Sunday, Cambodian officials are confident the young team with no seasoned internationals team will do its best.