China Cup will help measure progress

With a slim chance of punching a ticket to the 2018 World Cup, China is ramping up efforts to hone its national team's skills against high-level opposition.

The latest initiative is the GREE China Cup, which will debut next month in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The tournament will showcase China against Iceland, Chile and Croatia - and hopefully provide a gauge of how the national team stacks up against some of the best in the world.

"We only invited overseas teams ranked among FIFA's top 30 in the world," said Wang Jianlin, president of sponsor Wanda Group, which organized the event in cooperation with the Chinese Football Association.

"We hope the China Cup will become a great platform for the national squad to play against the top-class teams in the world, and also a great opportunity to promote the development of the sports industry in China," added Wang.

Wanda Group and the CFA have inked a 10-year deal to host the FIFA-recognized tournament, which kicks off on Jan 10 when China takes on Iceland, ranked 21st in the world after its stunning run to the Euro 2016 quarterfinals.

Two-time reigning Copa America champion Chile, ranked No 4, will then face star-studded Croatia, ranked 14th.

The winners will square off for the championship on Jan 15.

CFA vice-president Zhang Jian said the competition will provide an opportunity for national team coach Marcello Lippi to sharpen China for the remaining World Cup qualifiers, which resume in March.

Organizers plan to cast a wide net for Chinese players in the China Cup, and Lippi's assistant Li Tie said: "Many thanks to the organizers for providing us the chance to play and learn from world-class opponents.

"Our coaching staff is trying to work out a list of players who can represent the national team for the championship."

chenxiangfeng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/14/2016 page23)