In 2022, the national team of Chinese men's and women's football teams at all levels will comprehensively attack international competitions.
On Thursday, local time, the Chinese women's football team will take the lead in ushering in the first international competition of the new year - the 2022 Women's Asian Cup. At present, the Chinese team has arrived in Mumbai, India, to make final preparations for the competition.
Head coach Shui Qingxia said in an interview with the official website of the AFC that the Chinese women's football team still has a lot to improve. "In my opinion, the most important thing at the moment is that we play our part in the game." She said.
On the morning of January 16, more than 40 people from the Chinese women's football team arrived at Mumbai International Airport in India on a chartered flight and underwent nucleic acid testing at the airport. Subsequently, the whole team drove to the station and began to prepare for the final pre-match preparations for the Asian Cup.
At present, the local epidemic situation in India is more serious, in order to ensure the safety of the delegation, the AFC has designated a separate activity area for all participating teams, and the Chinese women's football team not only enters the separate floor of the hotel, but also has an exclusive area for dining in the restaurant.
Mumbai Stadium
According to the Asian Cup group stage schedule, the Chinese women's football team is in Group A and will face Chinese Taipei, Iran and host India from January 20.
Asian rivals Australia women's soccer team are in Group B alongside Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Japan, the winner of the last Asian Cup, is in Group C with South Korea, Myanmar and Vietnam.
For the Asian Cup to expand from the original 8 participating teams to 12, Shui Qingxia, head coach of the Chinese women's football team, believes that this means that the team will have more matches. "The expansion will benefit all teams, whether they are strong teams or developing teams, will learn from the game. This is also a good change for the development of Asian women's football. ”
At the Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese women's football team suffered a crushing defeat, after which the whole team ushered in a shock, this time to play in the Asian Cup, but also the national team after a few months to play again.
Speaking about the pre-match preparation of the Chinese women's football team, Shui Qingxia said: "Due to the epidemic, our team did not have the opportunity to participate in international friendly matches, but the women's Super League can be held, ensuring that the players can have regular training and the number of matches. Shui Qingxia revealed that although the Chinese women's football team did not have the opportunity to play any warm-up matches with the strong team, from the current situation, this should not be a problem.
For the prospects of the Chinese women's football team in this Asian Cup, Shui Qingxia said that the Chinese women's football team still has a lot to improve, and the most important thing at present is that they can play their own characteristics in future competitions.
"I watched how they performed in the league and hoped that each of them would prove their strength and worth in the Asian Cup."
In the history of the Asian Cup, the Chinese women's football team is the team that has won the most championships, winning a total of 8 championships. However, after 2006, the Chinese women's football team has not been involved in the Asian Cup championship for 15 years, and whether it can make a breakthrough this time and regain the title of Asian champion has also become the focus of fans' attention.
At present, the AFC has offered a heavy prize money for this cup, and the winning team will receive $1 million in prize money, and the runner-up is $500,000.
Although it cannot be compared with the $5 million prize money of the Men's Asian Cup, the impact of the million dollar jackpot is also a great incentive for women's football.