Doha tournament to be a testing ground for emerging World Cup squad under coach Gao

DOHA - The youngest ever Chinese team at an Asian Cup will try to erase the country's under-performing image at this year's event.

The nation's players claim they are not afraid of any team as their first battle with Kuwait on Saturday looms.

Over the past few months, Chinese officials, and head coach, Gao Hongbo, have asked the public to give the team more time to improve and said gaining experience at the Asian Cup is more important than results.

But the low-profile team, which trained in closed sessions after arriving in Doha, is ambitious going into Asia's major soccer tournament.

"Though we are young, we are not afraid of any opponents," said Gao, who led the team to a steady rise up the FIFA world rankings from 108 to a current position of 87 during his tenure from May 2009.

"There's nothing to worry about in the Asian Cup," said captain Du Wei, who played in China's only appearance at the World Cup in 2002. "We are fully prepared and looking forward to meeting Kuwait."

Du also said the first match was very important to the team's overall performance at the event and that the players were mentally focused.

"Our training sessions were of a high quality. At 60 percent form we should ensure a good game," he said. "The sides have made changes recently and we will make every effort to get a good result.

"This Kuwait team is in its best form and we will play hard to put it under pressure," Gao said. "The Asian Cup represents the highest standard of Asian soccer and it is a chance for us to know more about other Asian teams."

Though the two sides closed the door to the media for their training sessions, both claim they have scouted each other well.

"The match is just like a battle and we can't reveal all the strategies before it starts," Gao said.

"I saw a lot of matches of China. China is a very disciplined team and has very good individuals," said Kuwait coach Goran Tufegdzic. "It will be difficult to play against China, but I believe in our team."

China missed the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but a 1-0 pre-tournament defeat of France and a 3-0 win over South Korea at the East Asian Football Championship has raised optimism in the camp.

China also sealed a 3-2 victory in a closed-door warm-up with defending champion Iraq on Jan 2 in Doha.

It has made nine previous appearances at the Asian Cup but the closest it has come to tasting success is runner-up finishes in 1984 and 2004, when it was beaten 3-1 by Japan on home soil in the final.

At the last tournament, in 2007, China crashed out of the group stage after a 3-0 defeat by Uzbekistan in Malaysia.

China Daily